Zach You looked at Joe Di in surprise. At first, he had absolutely no impression of Joe Di. Now, it seemed to come back to him—Joe Di had once been hunted by Jaden Dai, even snatching away Jaden Dai's Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram and destroying his Daihe Hall. Back then, Zach You had wondered who exactly this Joe Di was.
But afterwards, he never saw Jaden Dai again, nor did he hear any news about Joe Di.
For Zach You, among the Ten Dao Prodigies, the one he feared most was not the unattainable Emperor Xinren, but rather Jaden Dai, who ranked sixth. On the surface, Jaden Dai was sixth, but Zach You knew well that Jaden Dai was no weaker than himself—and far more patient.
Not only that, Jaden Dai was the only one who possessed an innate treasure that rivaled his own River Mountain Vessel—the Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram. It was precisely because of his wariness of Jaden Dai that he paid close attention to him.
Now, seeing Joe Di's imposing presence, Jaden Dai wouldn't even be able to chase him down—he'd be lucky to escape with his life from Joe Di's hands.
"I am Zach You. Greetings, Daoist Joe." Zach You did not wish to offend someone like Joe Di, so he cupped his fists in greeting, though he also did not want to appear overly eager to curry favor.
If Fubu Wen and Joe Di started fighting, and Joe Di couldn't completely suppress Fubu Wen, he wouldn't mind lending Fubu Wen a hand.
Joe Di chuckled, continuing to inscribe formation flags and laws.
Zach You—this was exactly the person he intended to deal with. Ever since arriving in the Dao Domain, he hadn't heard any news about Old Zhong, and suspected that Old Zhong might have fallen into Zach You's hands.
Back then, his cultivation was far too weak, and he had no idea where Zach You was. Now that Zach You appeared before him, he certainly wouldn't let him slip away so easily.
If Zach You didn’t have the River Mountain Vessel, Joe Di wouldn’t even bother carving out the law array patterns. But the River Mountain Vessel is truly terrifying—an ultimate world artifact, perhaps no less than the Sacred Yin Pearl. Back then, the reason he didn’t kill Jaden Dai was precisely because Jaden Dai had obtained the Five Continents Dao Tower.
Jaden Dai escaped; if Zach You manages to flee using the same means, then Joe Di would be truly incompetent.
Seeing Joe Di smile lightly and fall silent, Zach You frowned, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart. But he quickly suppressed the urge to leave—no matter how strong Joe Di was, if Zach You wanted to go, no one could stop him.
“Ru’er, who is this man?” Albert Lan stared at Joe Di in shock. Though Joe Di had only exchanged one blow with Fubu Wen, how could Albert Lan not see that Joe Di had suppressed Fubu Wen?
How could such a powerful cultivator possibly know his own daughter?
“His name is Joe Di…” Ruby Lan murmured. She was the one who had brought Joe Di to the cultivation world—how could she not know him? But how could Joe Di possibly be so powerful now?
“I know his name is Joe Di.” Albert Lan frowned. What he really wanted to ask was: where did Joe Di come from, and who exactly was he?
Ruby Lan shivered, turning to Albert Lan and saying, “Father, he’s the one I begged you to save back then. Now I understand…”
“Ah…” Albert Lan was stunned. He stared at Joe Di in a daze. With such strength, Joe Di needed his help? Of course, he hadn’t gone to help back then—he wouldn’t risk offending someone like Jaden Dai for the sake of an unknown cultivator.
Wait a moment…
Albert Lan finally remembered and blurted out, “He’s the Joe Di who destroyed Jaden Dai’s Daihe Hall? And later was…”
Thinking of Joe Di’s fearsome reputation, Albert Lan forcibly swallowed the words about Joe Di being hunted by Jaden Dai.
Ruby Lan didn’t answer Albert Lan’s question, but she understood now. The cultivator who destroyed Daihe Hall was indeed the Joe Di she knew. She also realized why Jaden Dai had let her and Zhen Man go upon seeing Joe Di—it was because Joe Di had destroyed Daihe Hall and stolen Jaden Dai’s Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram.
She further understood that Joe Di wasn’t standing here because he had escaped from Jaden Dai, but because he simply didn’t fear him. No wonder she hadn’t heard any news of Jaden Dai in the Dao Domain since that day.
Not just Zach You, Albert Lan, and Ruby Lan—at this moment, every cultivator in the grand guest hall realized who Joe Di was. He was the one who had destroyed Daihe Hall, and yet he was still living well. No wonder Fubu Wen hadn’t immediately attacked him.
Many cultivators in the hall began whispering among themselves. The sect master of Evolution Dao Sect was especially excited—he knew that Joe Di had once been an outer disciple of their sect.
But even if he had the courage of a lion, he didn’t dare approach Joe Di at this moment.
Joe Di remained silent while Fubu Wen frantically healed himself and Zach You eyed Joe Di with deep wariness. No one else dared speak, and the atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly tense.
Joe Di had already laid down a grand array, sealing off this section of space. He finally turned to Zach You and said, “I’ve heard you possess the River Mountain Vessel.”
At the mention of the River Mountain Vessel, Zach You’s eyes narrowed and his domain aura surged explosively. Waves of Dao resonance rippled around him, forcing several nearby Primordial cultivators to retreat, pale-faced, from the oppressive force.
Not only Zach You, but everyone else in the hall became alert, secretly communicating with their own artifacts through divine sense.
The River Mountain Vessel was the treasured artifact of Blackfrost Hall. Back when the Sacred Yin Pearl appeared in the Dao Domain, countless experts fought over it, and the River Mountain Vessel vanished during that battle. Now that Zach You had reappeared in the Dao Domain and reached the Dao Integration Realm, most people suspected Blackfrost Hall had recovered the River Mountain Vessel, even though he hadn’t shown it.
By questioning Zach You about Blackfrost Hall’s supreme treasure, Joe Di was sure to provoke him, and a major battle was inevitable. At such a moment, everyone naturally braced themselves. In a clash between such powerful cultivators, one careless move could mean instant annihilation.
If anyone could leave, they would have already fled from the guest hall by now.
Fubu Wen, on the other hand, was delighted. He hadn’t expected Joe Di to provoke Zach You while still fighting him. Without hesitation, he retreated several steps, positioning himself to flank Zach You, and sent him a message: "Let’s join forces."
Zach You nodded slightly and looked at Joe Di, saying slowly, “I heard that Daoist Di took Jaden Dai’s Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram. Could it be that Daoist Di is also interested in my Blackfrost Hall’s River Mountain Vessel?”
Joe Di chuckled, “That’s right, I am indeed interested in the River Mountain Vessel. I once stayed inside it and met a friend named Zhong Ao. I heard you used underhanded means to trap him inside the River Mountain Vessel. Today, I want to ask—where is my friend Zhong Ao?”
“So it was you…” Zach You suddenly understood. The Sacred Yin Pearl had been taken by Joe Di. Joe Di had seized the opportunity while he was gravely injured and in a daze, healing himself, and took the Sacred Yin Pearl.
Even with Zach You’s deep cunning, he couldn’t hold back any longer. He summoned a yellow gourd, and in the next moment, the entire hall was overwhelmed by a vast, crushing force. Every cultivator present felt that the slightest movement would cause them to be obliterated by a pressure as boundless as the cosmos itself.
Everyone was secretly shocked—even this was just the residual force. One could imagine how terrifying the pressure Joe Di faced at the center was.
Joe Di truly bore ninety-nine percent of the River Mountain Vessel’s cosmic suppression. He felt as if the universe had turned into a black hole, crashing towards him—each moment it drew closer, the pressure multiplied. If he dared to stand still, he’d be crushed to dust by the River Mountain Vessel in the next instant.
But Joe Di was not someone who would stand idly by. Without hesitation, he summoned the Void Mountain and hurled it forward. At the same time, his Tiansuo Blade effortlessly tore through Zach You’s domain, locking down all his vitality and escape routes.
“The Void Mountain…” Zach You cried out in shock, only to discover, even more horrified, that he was locked by Joe Di’s blade intent and couldn’t break free.
Before their first exchange had even ended, Zach You knew in his heart that he was far inferior to Joe Di. At this moment, he no longer dared to demand the Sacred Yin Pearl from Joe Di. He had to escape as quickly as possible—break free from Joe Di’s blade intent and use the River Mountain Vessel to flee.
Otherwise, Zach You would never have another chance to escape.