Half a month passed, but Joe Di still couldn't find a good opportunity.
Joe Di didn't dare to cultivate openly and could only stay inside the Tianji Resting Pavilion, studying formations. Back on Fairy Star, Joe Di was already considered a level four formation master, though he hadn't crafted many formation flags and his advancement was mostly theoretical.
Over the past few years, nearly every confrontation Joe Di faced involved arranging various formations. He had developed his own understanding of formation arts. Except for the earliest formations he set up, now every array he constructed included his own modifications, no longer bound by what he had learned.
Joe Di's arraycraft skills had already reached the peak of Fourth Grade, and he was always on the verge of breaking through to Fifth Grade Array Master. After half a month of quiet study, his mastery advanced to Fifth Grade without any obstacles.
In the past year, Joe Di had examined no fewer than a thousand jade slips related to arraycraft. He learned that even across the entire Aurora Continent, Seventh Grade Array Grandmasters were exceedingly rare, and even Sixth Grade Array Masters were few and far between. Now that he had joined the ranks of Fifth Grade Array Masters, he stood among the top experts in arraycraft on the continent.
Back in the Ji Kingdom, aside from cultivation, no one could match him in learning other disciplines. Still, Joe Di knew that his rapid progress in formation arts over five or six years was likely due not only to his innate talent, but also to that mysterious gray stone.
Based on his understanding of formations, most people—even over a lifetime—could never reach the level of a fourth-grade formation master, and these people lived at least two hundred years.
No matter how clever he was, he couldn't possibly be smarter than everyone else on the continent.
"Brother Joe, we've got an opportunity!" Geng Ji's excited voice came from the doorway.
"Has the Qi Family's Yuan Soul left?" Joe Di stood up, delighted, and asked.
For them, the only chance to seize the Qi Family Trading House in North Ridge City was when the Yuan Soul expert of the Qi Family left.
Geng Ji confirmed, "Yes, that Yuan Soul expert definitely left. The Aurora Continent has opened Skyveil, and many experts have gone there. I saw that Yuan Soul expert leave North Ridge City with my own eyes."
"What is Skyveil?" Joe Di asked in confusion.
During the time Joe Di was researching formations, it was Geng Ji who constantly gathered information outside.
Geng Ji spoke with excitement, "I just found out myself. Rumor has it that the most mysterious secret realm on Aurora Continent is Skyveil. Many say Skyveil isn't even on the continent, and its opening time is never fixed. So every time Skyveil opens, it's a festival for all cultivators on Aurora Continent. Do you know why the Qi Family Trading House has so many Yuan Soul cultivators? Nearly all their Yuan Soul experts came from the last opening of Skyveil."
Inside Skyveil are countless cultivation resources and treasures that others can only dream of obtaining.
"When was the last time Skyveil opened?" Joe Di suddenly felt a stronger urge to go there. Compared to dealing with the Qi Family Trading House, Skyveil was the place he truly needed to go.
"It was five hundred seventy years ago. I heard that cultivators entering Skyveil must be younger than a hundred years old. Unfortunately, we don't have the chance to go in." Geng Ji's tone carried a clear trace of regret as he finished speaking.
Joe Di asked, puzzled, "Why can't we go in? Skyveil doesn't belong to anyone. As long as we meet the requirements, shouldn't we be able to enter?"
"That's not the case." Geng Ji shook his head. "Almost no rogue cultivators enter Skyveil, and those who do are extremely rare. Most who enter are disciples of sects, and before entering, the major sects compete among themselves. Only the most talented disciples participate, and based on the results, each sect determines how many can enter Skyveil."
Joe Di finally understood why Geng Ji said they weren't qualified to enter Skyveil. They were rogue cultivators and had no right to represent any sect in the competition.
"Whether we can go or not, after we deal with the Qi Family Trading House in North Ridge City, we'll go check out Skyveil." Joe Di made up his mind. If he couldn't enter such a place, he would never feel satisfied.
"Alright, wherever Brother Joe goes, I'll go too," Geng Ji said excitedly. Under Joe Di's influence, he was no longer the innocent youth he once was. With a place like Skyveil, anyone would want to go.
"You should study talismans more. You're the slowest among us. I'm heading outside the Qi Family Trading House to set up formations," Joe Di said, patting Geng Ji.
Joe Di specialized in formations and was now a level five formation master. Tree Brother focused on alchemy, and after practicing with countless low-grade spirit herbs, could now barely refine second-grade spirit pills. Only Geng Ji was progressing the slowest; despite his fast cultivation, after using up many materials, he could only barely make first-grade talismans.
"Brother Joe, I'm just not cut out for it," Geng Ji said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.
"I'm heading out now," Joe Di said, not minding Geng Ji's slow progress with talismans. He always believed that mastering more skills was never a burden.
......
The Qi Family Trading House in North Ridge City was truly grand. Because divine sense was blocked, Joe Di spent quite some time circling the area to inspect the trading house.
It was the largest trading house he had ever seen. Most trading houses bought spirit herbs and sold pills or artifacts, usually separated by floors. But the Qi Family Trading House here had different buildings for each function.
The floors selling pills were entirely dedicated to medicinal items, while those selling artifacts and cultivation techniques each had their own corresponding areas. In addition, there were leisure floors and various cultivation caves for the Qi Family members.
All these buildings were connected by suspended corridors high above, making the place resemble a massive commercial center on Earth. There were places to spend money and places to relax.
Now a level five formation master, Joe Di began to secretly set up trapping and explosive arrays after surveying the area.
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The Qi Family Trading House's protective array was already level five. This time, Joe Di didn't just set up a random explosive array like before. He planned to spend several days setting up a true level five trapping array and a level five explosive array. After all, all the array flags were made from materials provided by the Qi Family Trading House, so he didn't feel the least bit guilty.
Just as Joe Di was stealthily laying down several array bases, a cold laugh sounded behind him.
Startled, Joe Di leapt forward several dozen meters before instinctively turning around. He didn't even need to use his divine sense; standing before him was a disheveled, scruffy-looking man.
Not only was the man's hair a mess, but his clothes looked like they hadn't been changed in ages and even emitted a faint sour odor. He was hunched over, looking completely down and out.
Joe Di didn't dare assume this man was truly destitute, because he couldn't sense the man's cultivation level at all. With his current experience, he could detect even a peak Golden Core cultivator standing before him. Since he couldn't sense anything from this man, he must be a Yuan Soul or even higher-level expert.
"You've got guts, taking out several Qi Family Trading House branches and now daring to target the headquarters in North Ridge City, Northern Domain Province. Heh heh, heh heh... You're the boldest person I've ever seen..."
Joe Di's heart sank, his scalp tingling as he instinctively stepped back, his mind racing with countless escape plans. But he soon realized, to his despair, that none of them would let him escape from this hunched old man.
"Don't even think about running. If you could escape from me, I might as well close my eyes and be buried," the hunched old man said dismissively, as if sensing Joe Di's thoughts.
At that moment, Joe Di felt only one regret: he hadn't realized until today how important escape techniques were. If he survived this, he vowed to drop everything and seek out a proper escape art.
"May I ask who you are, Senior? I don't understand what you're talking about," Joe Di cupped his fists, knowing denial was pointless but still unwilling to admit anything.
The hunched old man waved his hand. "Don't worry about who I am. If I hadn't shown up, once you finished setting up your trapping and explosive arrays and entered the Qi Family Trading House, you'd just be walking into a death trap. Kid, you're truly fearless in your ignorance. Do you know how many Golden Core guards the Qi Family Trading House has? Not only that, there's a Yuan Soul expert stationed here. Yet you dare target this place? That's not bravery—it's recklessness. You're like someone who's lived too long and is looking for trouble."
After saying this, the hunched old man chuckled again. "You should be glad you targeted four Qi Family Trading House branches within a month. If you'd gone after a fifth, you wouldn't even be alive to keep tempting fate."
"So it was you," Joe Di finally understood who had used his name to raid the other three Qi Family Trading House branches.
That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!