"You're absolutely right. I'm going to take it by force..." Vincent Gao reached out to grab the Primordial Gem in Joe Di's hand. If it were any ordinary item, he wouldn't stoop so low, but the Primordial Gem held the aura of the Great Dao for cultivation. If he obtained it, his future status would be all but assured.
Even if it meant risking his life, he would still try to seize such a treasure.
Besides, in Vincent Gao's eyes, Joe Di was just an ant at the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment—someone he could crush with a single move. For this grab, he didn't even use half his strength.
Joe Di had killed a swamp lion equivalent to the late Gold Core stage, though among fiend beasts, swamp lions were considered weak. Now, facing a true mid-stage Gold Core cultivator, even with a trap formation set outside, he dared not be careless.
Earlier, he had stowed away his spear to make Vincent Gao think he was afraid to act. Now that Vincent Gao made his move, Joe Di summoned his saber in an instant, transforming it into a relentless blade aura imbued with killing intent that slashed toward Vincent Gao.
Huh? Vincent Gao sensed the blade intent behind Joe Di's strike and let out a surprised sound. If it were an early Gold Core cultivator, this slash might actually injure them. This blade was stronger than one from a perfected Foundation Establishment cultivator—it was almost on the threshold of the Blade Dao.
Though Vincent Gao still hadn't summoned his own artifact, he simply shifted slightly, increasing the force of his grab by another twenty percent. His heart burned with excitement. For Joe Di to unleash such a powerful strike—what did that mean? The only possibility was that Joe Di had benefited from that stone with clear cultivation rules...
Wait, something was wrong. Vincent Gao suddenly realized—if Joe Di truly understood the value of that stone, why would he expose it? And why show it off in front of a Gold Core cultivator when he was only at Foundation Establishment? This was clearly abnormal.
A sense of danger surged in his heart. Without hesitation, Vincent Gao grabbed for his artifact. Before he could fully summon it, he saw Joe Di throw a punch.
He saw Joe Di throw a punch, but as the fist landed, it transformed into several towering peaks crashing down.
The surrounding space slowed, and Vincent Gao was horrified—only a divine ability could create such spatial stagnation.
With one punch, it was as if countless waves surged forth, each one following the last in an endless torrent.
But that slash was never Joe Di's true attack—his real move was the Mountain Crest Fist.
Sensing something amiss, Vincent Gao tried to summon his artifact, but the first peak of Joe Di's Mountain Crest Fist was already crashing down before him.
"Don't worry, Brother Joe. I won't let a single dog from the Qi Trading House escape," Garrett replied, his killing intent surging.
"Boom! Crack!" The mountain shattered, and Vincent Gao's hand bones broke at the same time. At that moment, his artifact—the Yin-Yang Awl—was summoned, splitting into two streams of black and white: one struck at Joe Di, the other tried to block the second peak crashing toward him.
Even though Joe Di had the advantage, his speed was still a level slower than Vincent Gao's.
For Vincent Gao, the most important thing now was Joe Di's second punch—the Raging Tide Fist. Though his Yin-Yang Awl blocked part of it, the force did not dissipate. Having witnessed the Mountain Crest Fist, Vincent Gao knew how terrifying this move was—it was a true divine ability. He stopped attacking and transformed the Yin-Yang Awl into a void bagua, shielding himself from the Raging Tide.
In reality, Joe Di's blade deliberately missed the Yin-Yang Awl's attack, its wave-like slashes battering Vincent Gao like crashing surf.
If it were a Foundation Establishment cultivator attacking, Joe Di might not have been able to counter and would have taken the hit to keep pressing Vincent Gao.
Vincent Gao was a Gold Core cultivator. No matter how much Joe Di trusted his inner armor, he wouldn't dare take a direct hit from Vincent Gao's Yin-Yang Awl. After unleashing the Fifth Blade—Riftblade—Joe Di threw another punch, his second move: the Raging Tide Fist.
With one punch, it was as if countless waves surged one after another, rushing down in a torrent.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!" After spitting out a mouthful of blood and suffering broken hand bones, Joe Di's Mountain Crest Fist was completely shattered by Vincent Gao. But just as the force of that punch faded, Joe Di's second punch—the Raging Tide Fist—followed up immediately.
Though the Raging Tide Fist's surging waves blocked the sharpness of the Yin-Yang Awl, it couldn't stop all of Vincent Gao's attack. One awl shadow tore through the Raging Tide, slamming into Joe Di's chest without resistance.
Joe Di grew anxious—why hadn't Garrett arrived yet? He hadn't expected a mid-stage Gold Core cultivator to be so formidable, even when caught off guard. This was nothing like fighting the swamp lion.
At the same time, Joe Di's Riftblade struck the other awl shadow of Vincent Gao's Yin-Yang Awl. The blade aura split but did not dissipate—though weakened, it still crashed into Vincent Gao.
Vincent Gao paid little attention to Joe Di's blade. He sensed its power was no greater than the previous strike, and his Yin-Yang Awl had blocked it anyway. To him, this slash would cause only minor injury. As long as he survived Joe Di's rapid ambush, he could easily kill him.
For Vincent Gao, the most important thing now was Joe Di's second punch—the Raging Tide Fist. Though his Yin-Yang Awl blocked part of it, the force did not dissipate. Having witnessed the Mountain Crest Fist, Vincent Gao knew how terrifying this move was—it was a true mystical art. He stopped attacking and transformed the Yin-Yang Awl into a void bagua, shielding himself from the Raging Tide.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The waves of the Raging Tide Fist crashed against the void bagua, sending ripples of true essence through the air. No matter how strong Joe Di's punch was, after being blocked by the Yin-Yang Awl, it could not break through the void bagua.
"Pfft!" The Riftblade's wave also struck Vincent Gao, leaving a deep bloody groove on his body. As Vincent Gao had predicted, Joe Di's slash only left a wound—not a serious threat to a sixth-layer Gold Core cultivator like him.
Joe Di's offensive clearly weakened, and Vincent Gao sneered as the Yin-Yang Awl's aura surged. The black-and-white killing intent enveloped Joe Di. The tide of battle was about to turn: Joe Di had attacked before, but now it was Vincent Gao's turn to strike back.
[Irrelevant passage about chapter continuation, skip translation.]
Before seeing the Primordial Gem, Vincent Gao might have wondered how a Foundation Establishment ant could be so terrifying. Now, all he felt was burning desire. If he could obtain that stone containing the rules of heaven and earth, he might even rival a Nascent Soul cultivator when he reached peak Gold Core.
But before Vincent Gao could crush Joe Di, the Riftblade aura that had carved a deep bloody groove in his body suddenly exploded. Like waves crashing against a boulder, the erupting blade patterns surged into Vincent Gao from all directions.
"Crack, crack, crack!" Vincent Gao could even hear the sound of his own veins and bones breaking. He spat out a mouthful of blood and charged madly toward the Resthaven Inn's front door.
It wasn't that he couldn't defeat Joe Di, but that he had been caught off guard by Joe Di's hidden trick. Now he could only regret—opportunity had been right in front of him, but his carelessness had let it slip away.
At this moment, Joe Di was also gravely wounded—he had no strength left to stop Vincent Gao.
Vincent Gao had just reached the entrance of Resthaven Inn when a massive Titan Axe came crashing down in front of him.
An ambush? Vincent Gao's heart sank, and he retreated rapidly.
"Pfft!" Even though Vincent Gao was fast, the Titan Axe still nearly cleaved him in half—a jet of blood shot several meters away.
Vincent Gao no longer had time to regret missing his chance. For the second time, he regretted fleeing—he should have risked everything to kill Joe Di first.
"You can't kill me, I..." Vincent Gao hadn't finished his sentence before Joe Di's saber swept out, slicing off his head with a single blade aura.
"Brother Joe, I'm late." Garrett said apologetically. Even though Joe Di had given him array flags and taught him how to activate the trap-kill array he'd set up, it still took Garrett ages to open it.
Joe Di picked up the ring from the ground, and with a burst of flame, burned Vincent Gao to ashes. "You got here just in time. Now we have to wipe out everyone here—leave no one alive."
"Don't worry, Brother Joe. I won't let a single dog from the Qi Trading House escape," Garrett replied, his killing intent surging.
Compared to two years ago, Garrett had already changed tremendously. Now, learning that his hometown had been wiped out by the Qi Trading House, he wanted nothing more than to destroy every single branch they owned.
[...]
The protective array in Swampsea Town couldn't stop Joe Di.
After Joe Di and Garrett left Swampsea Town, a terrifying explosion erupted from the Qi Trading House. Everyone clearly saw the merchant house reduced to rubble.
Those familiar with arraycraft knew someone had used the Blast Array to blow up the Qi Trading House.
The next day, everyone in Swampsea Town saw the aftermath of last night's explosion. Two years ago, the Qi Trading House had been robbed by Starstream School disciple Joe Di; today, it was looted again.
This time, not only was it robbed, but the Qi Trading House's Gold Core protector and Foundation Establishment steward were killed. When the attackers left, they blew up the merchant house. Clearly, this wasn't done for profit.
Everyone knew it was the white-haired elder—he entered the Qi Trading House at night and never came out. Then, everyone heard the explosion that destroyed the merchant house.
The Qi Trading House was utterly furious. Never before had their Swampsea Town branch been robbed twice. If they couldn't catch the culprit, how could they claim to be one of the top merchant houses on the Aurora Continent?
Before the Qi Trading House could find those who destroyed their Swampsea Town branch, their Redspur Market branch was robbed again.
This time, a Foundation Establishment cultivator at peak level was slain, and everything else was looted. As before, the merchant house was destroyed as the attackers left.
The culprit who destroyed the Qi Trading House's Redspur Market branch was still that white-haired elder. He clearly targeted only the Qi Trading House—he hadn't touched any other merchant houses.
[End of today's update. Good night, friends!]