The Blood River Sect, though not one of the Five Grand Sects of the Dao Domain and lacking any renowned ancient prodigies, is a force no one dares to underestimate.
This sect also boasts a Hunyuan Realm powerhouse. The sect master, Felix Wu, is rumored to have reached mid-Hunyuan stage. His artifact, the Blood River, is infamous for its ruthlessness. Beneath the Blood River, countless powerful lives have been snuffed out.
At that moment, a Dao Yuan cultivator in a yellow robe hurried in, bowed to Felix Wu, and reported, "Sect Master, I've discovered that the man who gravely injured the young master likely participated in the Grand Dao River Pill Tournament. All the God Origin Pills he used came from there. However, when I checked the tournament records, I found no trace of him among the competing alchemists."
Felix Wu nodded, "Go and summon the young master."
Before the yellow-robed cultivator could respond, a voice rang out, "Father, my injuries have mostly healed."
If Joe Di were here, he would immediately recognize this man as the one who once hunted him, only to be seriously injured and even have a leg severed by Joe Di.
He also had another identity: the young master of the Blood River Sect, Vincent Wu. At first glance, those unfamiliar with the sect might think Vincent Wu and Felix Wu are brothers, but in truth, Vincent Wu is the only son of Felix Wu, the sect master.
"Wutian, was the cultivator who ambushed you disguised?" Felix Wu asked, showing ample patience toward his son.
Vincent Wu nodded, "Yes, Father. Now that I think about it, he must have been disguised, and his methods were extremely sophisticated."
Felix Wu nodded, "That being the case, this person is likely an alchemist who participated in the Grand Dao River Pill Tournament. Even with abundant rewards, no one could obtain several million God Origin Pills at once from the tournament. If his pills came from his sect, almost no sect could win several million God Origin Pills in the tournament. Therefore, this person likely cheated at the Grand Dao River, taking away God Origin Pills without being discovered by the tournament overseers..."
As he spoke, Felix Wu was struck by a sudden realization and abruptly fell silent.
He clenched his fist tightly. To take God Origin Pills from the Grand Dao River Pill Tournament without being discovered, there was only one possibility: the person possessed a world that surpassed the Five Element World. At the very least, it had to be a Five Element World.
Even Vincent Wu understood the implication, his eyes shining with excitement as he looked at his father. To possess a Five Element World—even without surpassing it—meant one would surely stand at the pinnacle of this realm in the future.
"Steward Lu, immediately investigate all the alchemists who participated in the pill tournament, and compare the God Origin Pills they refined with those traded to the Nightfall Artifact Pavilion..." Felix Wu's voice was tinged with excitement. If the cultivator who seriously injured his son Vincent Wu really did participate in the Grand Dao River Pill Tournament, Felix Wu was confident he could uncover the truth.
The yellow-robed steward replied again, "Sect Master, I've already found him. There were 2,071 participants in the Grand Dao River Pill Tournament. I obtained God Origin Pills refined by 935 of them, and compared these pills with those traded to the Nightfall Artifact Pavilion by the suspect. I've determined who made the pills."
"Who is it?" Vincent Wu asked impatiently, unable to wait any longer.
The yellow-robed steward replied in a measured tone, "His name is Joe Di, from the Origin Dao Sect."
"Origin Dao Sect?" Felix Wu immediately frowned. The Origin Dao Sect was not a sect the Blood River Sect could easily trample—it was one of the Five Grand Sects.
The yellow-robed steward continued, "Joe Di's God Origin Pills have a distinctive feature: not only is the distribution of Heaven and Earth Pill Energy exceptionally even, but the quality also surpasses that of other alchemists. I suspect he used some special technique in their refinement."
"So he really did cheat," Felix Wu muttered.
If he really cheated, that means Joe Di likely possesses a Five Element World.
His expression grew resolute. "Steward Lu, no matter what, we must capture this man and quietly bring him back to the Blood River Sect."
The yellow-robed steward replied again, "Sect Master, capturing this person won't be easy. The Palace Lord of Daihe Hall, Jiang Dai, is also searching for him. After leaving Grandridge, he avoided Jiang Dai's inspection array, and now Jiang Dai is searching everywhere for him. Moreover, he is no longer a disciple of the Origin Dao Sect; he left before entering Grandridge."
Felix Wu's expression shifted several times before he said sternly, "Others may fear Jiang Dai, but the Blood River Sect does not. We will continue searching for Joe Di, but keep it secret. Jiang Dai's reason for seeking Joe Di is likely because he knows Joe Di possesses a world surpassing the Five Element World."
......
Joe Di was unaware that Felix Wu was also searching for him. Even if he knew, he could only pretend not to. With his current strength, he had made too many enemies—exposure meant certain death.
At this moment, he had already arrived at the entrance to the second layer of the Vast Ruins. He burrowed underground, set up multiple concealment and shielding arrays, and finally entered the Ninth World.
Upon entering his world, Joe Di's first action was to summon the Dao Fire and retrieve the bottle of fire-attribute Primal Chaos Essence.
As soon as the fire-attribute Primal Chaos Essence was taken out, the Dao Fire responded, bursting forth with sparks.
Joe Di had just placed the fire-attribute Primal Chaos Essence beside the Dao Fire when the Dao Fire swept away the bottle. In an instant, the bottle was reduced to ashes, and the temperature of the Dao Fire continued to rise. Even though it belonged to Joe Di, he could clearly sense its terrifying power.
After only half a stick of incense, the once-roiling Dao Fire settled down completely. The originally black flames had turned pale blue, and Joe Di could now clearly sense that the Dao Fire had developed spiritual intelligence.
This was definitely a low-grade divine flame. Joe Di was overjoyed and immediately took out the Divine Fire Silkworm Thread.
The pale blue Dao Fire sensed the Divine Fire Silkworm Thread and clearly became more joyful, quickly sweeping away the thread. After one stick of incense, the Dao Fire's color deepened. To Joe Di's disappointment, the thread improved the Dao Fire's grade but did not advance it to a mid-grade divine flame.
Even as a low-grade divine flame, Joe Di believed his Dao Fire was much stronger than most mid-grade divine flames.
He took out the Nirvana Black Geng Stone again. This time, the stone easily melted into liquid in the blue flames, and Joe Di tossed in the Tiansuo Blade.
Soon, the Tiansuo Blade and Nirvana Black Geng Stone fused together, rolling within the blue Dao Fire. The blade's killing intent grew increasingly fierce, enveloping the entire space.
Joe Di executed one hand seal after another, causing the Nirvana Black Geng Stone to gradually vanish and the Tiansuo Blade to reform.
A day later, an unremarkable blue long blade appeared in Joe Di's hand. He stood up, and with a slash, a surge of violent killing intent swept out. Even distant lightning sensed the terrifying blade intent and instinctively kept its distance.
Good blade! Joe Di was thoroughly satisfied with this weapon. Although it had only advanced from a low-grade to a mid-grade divine artifact, Joe Di was certain it was among the finest of its class.
With the Dao Fire's advancement, everything was different. Joe Di eagerly refined another batch of Dao Transformation Divine Pills. Previously, he couldn't produce a single top-grade pill, but this time he refined nine superior pills and three single-stripe pills.
In the second batch, Joe Di refined twelve premium divine pills, ranging from single-stripe to five-stripe grades.
In the third batch, every pill Joe Di refined was of premium grade, each with seven or more stripes.
Joe Di let out a breath. He didn't put away the pill furnace and continued experimenting with Dao Origin Divine Pills.
Shenlin Pill, Extreme Origin Divine Pill, Vein Nourishing Divine Pill...
In just a year's time, batch after batch of Dao Origin Divine Pills were refined by Joe Di, progressing from low-grade to mid-grade, then high-grade, and finally all premium grade.
By the time all his fourth-grade divine herbs in his ring were depleted, Joe Di had become a true Dao Origin Pill Saint.
Unfortunately, he only had a few fifth-grade divine herbs; otherwise, he would have continued refining Hunyuan Divine Pills.