"A few days ago, I sent a message to Keith Searle, but there was no Dao resonance fluctuation. That was when I realized Keith Searle had been killed. Back then, Keith Searle was pursuing a woman from the Five Elements Universe named Roxie. She carried a Lotus Platform treasure—exactly what Keith Searle sought. The place where he was killed is most likely the Edge of Time." The cultivator in the corner explained clearly.
Zane Edge's gaze swept across the grand hall. Before he could speak, a brown-haired youth rose to his feet. "City Lord, let me go and investigate," he volunteered.
Zane Edge nodded. "You may go, but you need a helper. Remember, if that person is Joe Di, send word back immediately."
Everyone in the hall knew exactly who the brown-haired youth was. He too hailed from the Seven Realms Universe, and his name was Gavin Ford. His features were so refined they surpassed even the most beautiful women; tall and slender, with a straight nose and fair skin. Yet he was, beyond doubt, a man.
Despite Gavin Ford's striking appearance, in the Seven Realms Universe, only Zane Edge surpassed him in strength. Within Genesis City, he ranked among the top seven cultivators.
The cultivator who killed Keith Searle didn't have to be exceptionally strong, but they must have been bold. That's why Zane Edge suspected it might be Joe Di.
Gavin Ford was even stronger than Lyle Yew, yet Zane Edge insisted that if Gavin Ford encountered Joe Di, he must report back at once. Firstly, because Zane Edge doubted Gavin Ford could defeat Joe Di; secondly, because he needed to capture Joe Di as soon as possible.
Joe Di undoubtedly possessed a vast amount of cosmic crystals. For Zane Edge, cosmic crystals were the truly valuable resource.
Sean Chen chuckled and said to the woman beside him, "Kira Ji, go with Gavin Ford. It will be good to have someone watching his back."
"Yes," the woman beside Sean Chen replied, stepping over to Gavin Ford's side.
"Go at once, and report back the moment you have news," Zane Edge nodded to Gavin Ford, then to Sean Chen.
Sean Chen was a wild soul, yet his ambition matched his foresight. Since arriving at Genesis Holy Dao City, he had always supported Zane Edge. As for Sean Chen's potential threat, Zane Edge hardly gave it a second thought.
After Gavin Ford and Kira Ji left the hall, Zane Edge stood up as well. "Everything that needed saying has been said, and everyone has done enough divination for now. Lyle Yew, draw out a strand of your Dao resonance. Joe Di has just refined your Heaven's Dominion Altar. As long as your Dao resonance remains, we might use the ritual Dao resonance technique to locate the altar's position."
"Yes." Lyle Yew's face was deathly pale—he didn't even dare show anger, only regret. Regret for coming here to seek Zane Edge's help.
To expose his Dao resonance was to lay bare his deepest secrets in broad daylight. Worse still, Zane Edge spoke of ritual Dao techniques—once enacted, the agony Lyle Yew would endure might be worse than death. But even that wasn't the worst part; what face would he have left in Genesis Holy Dao City after this?
.......
Joe Di had no idea how long he'd stood upon the Lethe Bridge. Suddenly, he raised his hand and released a strand of Dao resonance. It struck the Genesis Opening Incantation before the bridge, scattering the incantation and unleashing an endless torrent of time resonance.
The surging time resonance crashed into the Dao resonance Joe Di had released, and in the void, there was a crackling sound, even the faint traces of patterns and marks appeared.
You come for the Cycle of Rebirth! You leave, also for the Cycle of Rebirth!
The Dao resonance traces were still those of the Cycle of Rebirth, but the aura of this grand Dao was no longer what it once was.
Time came to a standstill. At this moment, Joe Di could even retract the Lethe Bridge and venture deeper into the Edge of Time. Yet he chose not to. His Dao resonance overlapped with the Lethe Bridge; if he were anywhere other than the Edge of Time, or in a lower realm, he suspected he could make time reverse.
Ever since comprehending the laws of time, Joe Di's time-based divine arts could freeze time in an instant, or even slow it indefinitely. But he had never been able to reverse time—though he and many cultivators knew it should be possible, no one had ever succeeded.
"So this is the Cycle of Rebirth!" Joe Di exhaled, murmuring to himself.
If time cannot be reversed, how can one comprehend the Dao of Rebirth?
If he could forge Fate's Loom, and unleash it from the Lethe Bridge, it would surely be even more fearsome than his Time's Fourth Loom.
Driven by the Lethe Bridge, Joe Di stepped into the depths of the Edge of Time. With the protection of the bridge and his Cycle Resonance, he could freely search for materials here.
Over the course of more than a month, Joe Di gathered all sorts of temporal law materials within the Edge of Time.
Among these were Timewrought Iron, Chronogem, Agestone...
Though these materials were priceless, Joe Di felt that something was still missing for forging the most crucial Time Arrow for Fate's Loom.
Joe Di decided to search for ten more days. If he couldn't find anything better in that time, he'd use Agestone to forge the arrow.
The Lethe Bridge pressed onward, and a piece of Agestone, the size of a millstone, appeared before Joe Di. The bridge swiftly landed beside it, but before Joe Di could pick it up, a series of crackling sounds reached his ears.
Immediately, Joe Di was startled to find that all the Cycle Resonance he had constructed had shattered.
The next moment, a merciless, endless torrent of terrifying time swept over him. In just an instant, Joe Di felt most of his life force vanish; his hair turned gray, and a sensation of life leaving his body overwhelmed him.
Joe Di had no time to grab the Agestone—instead, he drew forth the Creation Brush and frantically inscribed the Genesis Opening Incantation in a cross pattern.
The cross-pattern Genesis Opening Incantation formed layer upon layer of temporal domains, which, combined with the Dao resonance of the Lethe Bridge, blocked the terrifying passage of time.
Joe Di unleashed strand after strand of Cycle Resonance, but in the span of a single breath, both his incantation domains and Cycle Resonance fractured once more.
I must leave—this is definitely a Temporal Void. By sheer accident, I've stumbled into a Temporal Void within the Edge of Time, a place where no one survives.
Before retreating, Joe Di still managed to snatch up the Agestone.
The moment the Agestone landed in Joe Di's hand, it split open, revealing a one-inch-long, grayish material. Even as it rested in Joe Di's palm, he could sense its terrifying temporal law aura.
With this inch-long material in his grasp, it felt as if he were holding the time of the entire universe.
Suddenly, a name surfaced in Joe Di's mind—Moment's Edge.
Is this Moment's Edge? It too is a time law material. At this moment, Joe Di was absolutely certain that within the Edge of Time, Moment's Edge was the most precious temporal law treasure. Now, his Fate's Loom had hope.
Crack! In an instant, all the temporal incantation domains and Cycle Resonance walls Joe Di had constructed split apart. If not for Moment's Edge, Joe Di would have turned and fled. But with Moment's Edge here, how could he bear to leave? A single piece of Moment's Edge could only forge one Time Arrow. Since he intended to forge the arrow for Fate's Loom, the more he had, the better.
Joe Di produced several Dao pills, grabbed a few Dao fruits and swallowed them, and at the same time, called upon the Jianmu to supply him with vitality. Once more, he inscribed, "Ten Realms of Life and Death, the Six Paths revolve in rebirth!"
Layer upon layer of temporal incantation domains stacked atop each other, and together with Joe Di's Cycle Resonance, allowed him to keep the Lethe Bridge in place.
Joe Di swept his divine sense outward. In almost no time, he found three more pieces of Moment's Edge. Unlike the first, these three were not wrapped in Agestone.
Crack! Joe Di barely managed to collect the three pieces of Moment's Edge before all his temporal Dao resonance walls shattered again. When he tried to press on, an even more terrifying Temporal Void swept in—a shadow of death loomed over his heart.
At this point, Joe Di dared not linger even for a breath. He frantically drove the Lethe Bridge to retreat.