"Fellow Daoist, I've said all that needs to be said. Could you show mercy and leave me a trace of incense for the future? Perhaps one day, we might pursue the Grand Way together..." Saint Zane Wyne, seeing Joe Di remain silent and still gripping the seal on his primordial spirit, could not help but plead.
Joe Di chuckled softly. "Pursue the Grand Way together? Aren't all the Saint Seat Holders here simply waiting for another chance to rule the vast cosmos? I doubt there will ever be a true opportunity for us to seek the Dao together."
I truly can't understand you so-called Saint Seat Holders. So many of you take turns governing the cosmos, each enduring countless epochs. Is there any meaning to such a life?"
Joe Di simply couldn't comprehend it. Every Saint Seat Holder who ruled the vast universe did so for untold epochs—each epoch lasting hundreds of millions of years. If every Saint Seat Holder took another turn at cosmic rule, Joe Di would scoff; even if given the chance, he wouldn't want it.
Since the Saint Seat Holders take turns at the helm, all the saints can only be neighbors as statues in the Saint Seat Plaza. Pursuing the same Dao together is simply impossible.
Saint Zane Wyne was stunned by Joe Di's words, but soon understood—Joe Di was a great saint who had lost his memory, and so naturally carried some misconceptions.
Realizing this, Saint Zane Wyne hurriedly explained, "Fellow Daoist, you must be mistaken. As I said, the saints here do aim to seize control of the cosmos again, but the truth is more complicated—those outside the Saint Seat Plaza simply don't know the full story."
"What's different about it?" Joe Di snorted, his tone skeptical.
Eager for Joe Di to release him, Saint Zane Wyne spoke even more earnestly, "Fellow Daoist, you should know by now—the Grand Way is ninefold. From the Qi Refining stage onward, each realm ascends from the first to the ninth level, all the way to Immortal Emperor at the ninth. With that pattern, why is it that once one enters the Divine Realm, there isn't a ninth-level completion as well?"
Joe Di agreed with the ninefold principle of the Grand Way, but asked in puzzlement, "After Immortal Emperor comes Dao Molding—that's the first level of the Divine Realm. Then there's Dao Nurturing, Dao Transformation, Dao Origin, Primal Chaos, Dao Unification, World Creation, Realm Fusion, and finally, the Creation Realm is the ninth layer of the Divine Realm, right? That's nine levels too, isn't it? Who says otherwise?"
Saint Zane Wyne managed a strained smile. "If that's so, then why do we have the First Step of Dao Ascension, the Second, and the Third?"
It's simply something that has become natural in cultivation—everyone is accustomed to the Three Steps of Dao Ascension.
Yet Joe Di did not answer; he knew that Saint Zane Wyne must have a reason for asking such a question.
Saint Zane Wyne did not expect a reply from Joe Di. Instead, his tone grew slightly more fervent. "Most saints deduce that the Divine Realm also has nine layers. But these nine layers are not the same as the Three Steps of Dao Ascension you think of. The Three Steps are merely the first three layers of the Divine Realm. What you call Dao Transformation to Creation are stages invented by some to fill the gap left by the missing nine layers. Such a Dao better fits the universal rules of Heaven."
Joe Di frowned, deeply skeptical of Saint Zane Wyne's words. The Third Step already meant mastery over a domain of the cosmos—if there were nine steps of Dao Ascension, what would that entail? Joe Di did not believe in the existence of nine steps.
Sensing Joe Di's disdain, Saint Zane Wyne softened his tone. "Fellow Daoist, if you believe the Three Steps of Dao Ascension encompass all nine layers of the Divine Realm, then let me ask you—why is there a Fourth Step? You may not know this, but every Saint Seat Holder in the Saint Seat Plaza is a Fourth Step cultivator. A few have even begun to touch the edge of the Fifth Step..."
Joe Di was taken aback. Indeed, if the Three Steps of Dao Ascension included all nine layers of the Divine Realm, then where did the Fourth Step come from?
No, that couldn't be right. Joe Di rubbed his forehead, recalling that he'd heard of the existence of a Fifth Step before—but who had said it?
Before Joe Di could remember who had told him about the Fourth and Fifth Steps of Dao Ascension, Saint Zane Wyne gazed at him with longing. "Fellow Daoist, many of the Saint Seat Holders here are not waiting to rule the cosmos. They are deducing how to break through to the Fourth Step, even how to leave the Ninefold Heaven—to reach a place where one can cultivate to the ninth layer of the Divine Realm...
Fellow Daoist, one day you too will become a Saint Seat Holder, and surely you will yearn for an even loftier Dao. If the Saint Seat Holders here truly uncover the secret of higher layers of the Divine Realm, it is possible that we could join forces in pursuit of it."
Joe Di said nothing, absorbing the weight of Saint Zane Wyne's words. The information this man brought was truly staggering.
Saint Zane Wyne was desperate for Joe Di to let him go. "Fellow Daoist, think about it. Even after reaching the Fourth Step and achieving eternal life, we are still subject to calamities that govern our Dao. The reason calamities exist might be that we seek to rule the cosmos after only attaining the Fourth Step. Perhaps, when we reach the ninth layer, calamities will no longer bind us..."
Joe Di disagreed. He believed that the new universe he, Ye Mo, and Ning Cheng had forged would never be subject to calamities. As long as a grand cosmos could cycle its laws and vital energy, restrain twisted rules, and refine powers beyond its bounds, calamities should cease to exist.
"So you're saying that most of the Saint Seat Holders here aren't waiting to rule the cosmos, but are searching for the secret of the ninth layer of the Divine Realm?" Joe Di's tone softened.
Sensing Joe Di would not kill him, Saint Zane Wyne breathed a little easier. "Yes, aside from a few obsessed Saint Seat Holders, the true powerhouses are all seeking the secret of the ninth layer of the Divine Realm. They long for the day they can step into the ultimate pinnacle."
Not long ago, some madman tried to assimilate the Grand Way Principle of the Saint Seat Plaza. Naturally, such a thing is forbidden. If the Plaza's Grand Way Principle were assimilated by another's world rules, how could the saints here speak of ruling the cosmos again, or of seeking the ultimate Divine Realm? Our goals are aligned. My earlier misunderstanding of you was only because I wished to protect the Saint Seat Plaza, to keep it from being assimilated..."
Joe Di nodded. "Very well. In that case, I won't torment you further..."
Saint Zane Wyne barely had time to rejoice before he once again sensed murderous intent. Now he understood—Joe Di meant to kill him. He cried out desperately, "If you kill me, all the Saint Seat Holders will hunt you down..."
But his words were cut short as countless Grand Way Principles locked onto him, stripping away his Dao Principles...
If rage could incinerate Joe Di, then Saint Zane Wyne's fury would have burned him a thousand times over. He could not fathom that after all these questions, this man still intended to kill him—and even sought to break open his world. Was this a dream? Saint Zane Wyne was, after all, a Fourth Step saint, ruler of the cosmos for thousands of epochs; how could anyone strip away his Dao Principles and break open his universe?
Even if Joe Di were an Extreme Saint, it would be impossible...
But Saint Zane Wyne's terror quickly mounted as he felt the Dao Principles of his universe world being stripped away, layer by layer. If this continued, the other could surely break open his world—it would only take more time.
Explode! Explode for me!
Realizing Joe Di could open his universe world, Saint Zane Wyne no longer cared about chances of reincarnation. He frantically surged his Dao resonance, determined to self-detonate along with his universe world. If he was to explode, he would never let Joe Di break into his world.
In the next moment, Saint Zane Wyne was dumbfounded—his Dao resonance was locked by Joe Di's Grand Way Principle. Forget self-detonation, even a Small Cosmos Cycle was now impossible.
As that terrifying aura of rules swept in, Saint Zane Wyne suddenly understood. His primordial spirit stared at Joe Di in unwilling despair. "It was you—it was you..."
At last, he knew who was assimilating the cosmic rules of the Ninefold Heaven, who sought to merge the Saint Seat Plaza's rules. It was none other than the man before him.
Sadly, his primordial spirit grew weaker and weaker, able only to project his rage in thought, unable to utter a single word.
As Saint Zane Wyne's primordial spirit faded into nothingness, a crisp crack resounded—Joe Di rejoiced inwardly, knowing he had finally broken open the universe world of a true Saint Seat Holder.