With the founding of the Grand Court of Taiji, representatives from the four great realms—Taiji, Taiji Prime, Taiji Origin, and Taiji Essence—arrived to offer their congratulations. Beyond these major realms, powerful cultivators from other domains also came to celebrate the occasion.
The first Dao Lord of the Grand Court of Taiji was Joe Di. The two Protectors were Luna Fairchild, Vice Sect Master of the Starblade Sect, and Fang Jianxi, Sect Master of the Divine River Saint Dao Sect. In addition, five of the ten Pillars were appointed: Ping Jiangsheng, Master of the Peach Blossom Divine Haven; Xie Gu’ou, Sect Master of the Heavenly Pill Sect; He Yi of the Grand Array Sect; Su Qianqian, Master of the Frost Valley; and Fu Yu of the Heavy Artifact Divine Dao Sect.
At the same time, the Grand Court of Taiji established its cultivator army, which would be led by the two Protectors and the ten Pillars.
Except for Joe Di and a handful of powerful cultivators who knew that the Taiji Realm still lacked the Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram to stabilize its destiny, most believed that the realm would soon soar to greatness, just like the other realms.
Joe Di had already made up his mind: once the Grand Court of Taiji was established, he would immediately return to the Forbidden Mountains, his goal being Dao Fusion. After achieving Dao Fusion, he would head to the Lost Dao Realm. The Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram must be reclaimed—it was the innate treasure that stabilized the Taiji Realm’s fate and could not be left in the hands of the Shang Guild.
“Dao Lord Di, Luna Fairchild of the Sunken Fish Palace requests an audience.” While Joe Di and several Protectors and Pillars were still entertaining strong cultivators from other realms, Su Qianqian hurriedly approached to deliver the message.
Joe Di frowned slightly. Luna Fairchild’s visit was not a major matter—why did she choose this moment to request a meeting? Besides, Luna Fairchild was not someone who disregarded protocol.
As Joe Di was still frowning in puzzlement, Su Qianqian whispered, “Luna Fairchild said it concerns Lord Voidbreaker. She rushed all the way here just to inform you of this.”
“I’ll go meet her. Please excuse me for a moment,” Joe Di rose to his feet, clasped his fists, and apologized to his guests.
Matters related to Lord Voidbreaker were worth attending to. Though he didn’t understand why Lord Voidbreaker hadn’t sent the message directly, but had Luna Fairchild deliver it instead.
Now that Joe Di was both Dao Lord of a realm and Sect Master of the Starblade Sect in the Taiji Realm, he had the freedom to attend to personal matters, and naturally, no one would object to his departure.
“Dao Lord, Luna Fairchild greets you.” As soon as Joe Di stepped out of the grand hall, Luna Fairchild hurriedly bowed in formal salute.
Joe Di asked in confusion, “Why didn’t Lord Voidbreaker send me a direct message? Why did he have you deliver it instead?”
Luna Fairchild quickly explained, “Lord Voidbreaker didn’t have time to send a message—he went straight into the Mountainview Forbidden Zone. I hurried all the way here and only just arrived in the Taiji Realm today.”
Luna Fairchild felt a bit aggrieved that Joe Di didn’t take her along, even though she had come all this way to deliver the news.
Joe Di sensed a vague sense of foreboding. He and Lord Voidbreaker had agreed to enter the Mountainview Forbidden Zone together once his affairs were settled. By rights, Lord Voidbreaker shouldn’t have gone in alone before Joe Di’s return. What had happened in the meantime?
“Tell me exactly what happened.” Joe Di wondered what could have made Lord Voidbreaker break their agreement and rush into the forbidden zone alone.
Luna Fairchild spoke as quickly as she could: “You had just left when a pale-faced cultivator wearing a purple crown arrived. As soon as he appeared, Lord Voidbreaker started fighting him.”
“Someone could actually fight Lord Voidbreaker?” Joe Di was stunned. He knew full well how powerful Lord Voidbreaker was—perhaps even a bit stronger than himself.
He had only witnessed one of Lord Voidbreaker's techniques—the Primordial Voidshatter Finger. Joe Di was certain that Lord Voidbreaker had other hidden abilities, meaning he might have held back during their previous fight.
Even if Lord Voidbreaker hadn’t held back, anyone capable of fighting him was truly extraordinary.
Luna Fairchild nodded, “Yes, that pale-faced man was incredibly powerful. He even managed to suppress Lord Voidbreaker for a brief moment. Then, he saw Bolt…”
Not good—Joe Di grew increasingly uneasy. He knew Bolt’s origins better than anyone: a Leviathan Descendant, and a rare variant at that.
Sure enough, Luna Fairchild continued, “After seeing Bolt, that pale-faced cultivator abandoned Lord Voidbreaker and turned to seize Bolt, then rushed into the Mountainview Forbidden Zone. Lord Voidbreaker saw him take Bolt and, without hesitation, followed them in.”
Joe Di’s expression turned grim. Now he understood why Lord Voidbreaker had charged into the forbidden zone. That purple-crowned, pale-faced cultivator was clearly his old nemesis. When old enemies meet, combat is inevitable. But when Bolt appeared, the cultivator recognized his lineage and captured him, rushing into the Mountainview Forbidden Zone.
Joe Di realized that Lord Voidbreaker, having lost Bolt, surely felt guilty for breaking their agreement to enter together. Driven by the need to rescue Bolt immediately, Lord Voidbreaker had rushed in after them.
“Thank you.” Joe Di clasped his fists to Luna Fairchild in gratitude, then hurried back to the main hall to inform his guests about his urgent departure. He entrusted the affairs of the Grand Court to the two Protectors and five Pillars, and assigned Starblade Sect matters to Luna Fairchild before leaving the Taiji Realm in haste.
Before leaving, Joe Di handed the array banners to Luna Fairchild and Fang Jianxi, instructing them to seal the Taiji Realm immediately if any crisis occurred that they could not handle.
As he departed, Joe Di left four Five Direction Banners in the Taiji Realm. If the realm was sealed, not even a Third Step cultivator could break through for a considerable time.
The Taiji Realm was bustling with activity due to the recent major events. With so many cultivators coming and going, exchanges and auctions were being held frequently.
Fortunately, Joe Di had already established a strict entry system in the Taiji Realm—anyone wishing to enter needed to obtain a special jade token as proof. Despite the increased traffic, things were more orderly than ever before.
But today, two cultivators arrived at the outer plaza of the Taiji Realm’s protective array and tried to force their way in without acquiring any identification jade tokens.
These days marked the grand founding of the Grand Court of Taiji, and two Dao Origin Realm experts were stationed as guards at the entrance of the realm’s protective array.
The cultivators in the plaza were furious when the young intruder, confronted by one of the Dao Origin guards, didn’t bother to explain himself. He struck with a single slap, killing the guard, then punched the array gate.
If not for Joe Di’s recent reconfiguration of the array, that punch would have shattered the Taiji Realm’s protective barrier.
The other Dao Origin guard immediately sent out a message and threw several array banners to lock the entrance of the protective array.
Almost simultaneously, as the guard locked the entrance, the young intruder struck again, killing him instantly with a single punch.
Luna Fairchild and the others in the council hall learned of the deaths immediately. Shocked, they rushed toward the entrance of the protective array.
The young intruder, enraged by the locked entrance, slaughtered hundreds of cultivators in the plaza and continued attacking the array. Eugene Bay, the elder, stopped him, and instead of pursuing the fleeing cultivators, he stared at the entrance and declared loudly, “I am Eugene Bay from the Bay of Legends. I expect you to open the array as quickly as possible. If you do not, I will break it myself. Once I do, I guarantee that not a single ant in the Taiji Realm will survive.”