"Joe Di, what cultivation stage are you at now?" Zhong Ao asked in astonishment, having just seen Joe Di blast Ava Kong into a mist of blood with a single punch.
"I've already stepped into the Immortal Emperor realm. What about you?" Joe Di chuckled, clearly pleased with his progress.
He owed much of this breakthrough to those azure pellets, as well as the several meters of azure spirit vein he had drawn from the Radiant Lake Palace.
Zhong Ao sighed, "If you hadn't helped me recover my physical body, I would be dead for sure. Because I was schemed against, this body is now useless—my meridians are shattered, and poison has completely seeped into my veins and flesh."
Joe Di understood why Zhong Ao ended up like this. Even if he was ambushed, it was ultimately Zhong Ao's own doing. He hadn't cherished this body at all; if he had, things wouldn't have turned out this way.
But it was hard to blame Zhong Ao. After all, once he found his original body, how could he care about a body crafted from low-grade immortal materials? To Zhong Ao, his current body was merely a temporary vessel.
"Let's find a place. I want to fuse my primordial spirit with my physical body, then join you in seeking revenge on that Thunder Emperor." Zhong Ao snorted. In his eyes, Immortal Emperors were mere ants. Not only had he been ambushed by one, but he was also being hunted down—how could he let this grudge go unavenged?
"Old Zhong, did you find the Millennium Divinewood Essence?" Joe Di asked in surprise.
Zhong Ao grinned, pulling out a jade vial. "Look, isn't this Millennium Divinewood Essence... What's wrong?"
Before Zhong Ao could finish, he noticed Joe Di's disdainful glance. Even with his damaged cultivation and faded memory, Zhong Ao could still recognize that look of contempt.
"Old Zhong, although I don't know how you obtained this Millennium Divinewood Essence, there's something wrong with it." Joe Di was familiar with all kinds of foundational laws. The moment his spiritual sense touched the Millennium Divinewood Essence, he could sense the presence of toxins—a unique law aura he had encountered more than once.
Zhong Ao shook his head. "Absolutely impossible. It's not like I haven't seen Millennium Divinewood Essence before. To be honest, it's not even that remarkable..."
As he spoke, Zhong Ao had already opened the jade vial. Instantly, his expression darkened. What he held was indeed Millennium Divinewood Essence, but it had been permeated by a potent poison. He hadn't noticed before, but after Joe Di's reminder and holding it in his hand again, he immediately detected the problem.
Zhong Ao was furious. Not only had he been schemed against and gravely injured for a bit of Millennium Divinewood Essence, but now the thing he obtained was fake or poisoned. He could hardly contain his anger.
"Wait, give it to me..." Seeing Zhong Ao about to throw away the Millennium Divinewood Essence, Joe Di quickly stopped him.
Perplexed, Zhong Ao handed the jade vial to Joe Di. "Joe Di, the toxin doesn't spread suddenly—it diffuses slowly. There's no point in keeping it. This kind of poison can't be separated at all."
Joe Di chuckled, "Just because others can't separate it doesn't mean I can't."
With that, Joe Di flicked his hand, and the Millennium Divinewood Essence floated out of the jade vial, suspended before him. His spiritual sense penetrated it, and wave after wave of law aura merged into the Millennium Divinewood Essence.
In just a dozen breaths, Joe Di performed dozens of profound hand seals, extracting a colorless, odorless substance.
Joe Di placed the colorless, odorless substance into the original jade vial, then took out a new vial to store the purified Millennium Divinewood Essence. He handed it to Zhong Ao and said, "It's done."