Simon Dee immediately said, "It was truly the act of a beast. Unfortunately, the Di Family is weak and can only swallow this humiliation. After that incident, Faye Dee trained tirelessly, but the resentment in her heart slowed her progress. Now that she’s heading to Little Central Star, she’ll surely do everything she can to improve her cultivation. However, the Five Young Lords are far too powerful. After what happened, the Five Grand Sects will definitely demand that the Five Young Lords kill Faye Dee on Little Central Star."
At this point, Simon Dee sighed, "The Five Grand Sect Masters appear just and fair, but in reality, none of them are good people. Don’t be fooled by their status as Seabreaker Stage experts—they have no intention of letting Faye Dee live. They value their own lives too much to allow a threat to remain. I heard that Uncle Hao Lan of Kun Sect has gone missing. Frankly, it would be best if he were dead."
Joe Di remained silent. He was sure that Simon Dee spoke this way not only because of his daughter Faye Dee, but also for the sake of the Di Family. He was angry that Faye Dee was implicated by him, but that didn’t mean he would be a pawn for the Di Family. Besides, he felt Simon Dee was exaggerating—after all, the Fivefold Dao Gathering had ended not long ago, and Faye Dee had already reached the second level of the Cauldron Stage. Was that really slow progress?
Seeing that Joe Di only uttered 'beast' to express his anger and then fell silent, Simon Dee grew anxious. "Young Master Hong Ying, don’t be fooled by Faye Dee’s former rank of twenty-third on the Sea List. The gap between the top ten and those below is enormous. Even if Faye Dee advances to the fourth level of the Cauldron Stage, she may still not be able to defeat a Five Young Lord who is only at the second level of the Cauldron Stage."
Simon Dee was sure that Joe Di did not fear Ju Qi. Since Joe Di wasn’t afraid of Ju Qi, it meant that on Little Central Star, Joe Di had the ability to protect Faye Dee.
Joe Di looked at Simon Dee and said, "Daoist Dee, may I speak with Fairy Faye alone for a moment?"
"Of course," Simon Dee stood up without hesitation and said, "I’ll return to the Di Family’s quarters on Little Central Star. Once you’re done talking, Young Master Hong Ying, you’re welcome to visit our quarters and see how things are going."
After saying this, Simon Dee left immediately.
Joe Di couldn’t help but admire the old man—he truly left no opportunity unexplored. But as for returning to the Di Family on Little Central Star, that was simply impossible.
After Simon Dee left, Joe Di finally looked at Faye Dee and said, "If I’m not mistaken, you should be able to reach the top of the Fivefold Dao Tablet. In other words, those five old men suspect you have a special method, and perhaps they aren’t wrong."
A sharp glint suddenly flashed in the corner of Faye Dee’s lifeless eyes. She stared at Joe Di for a long moment before saying, "Although my father believes you’re formidable and hopes I can get your help, if I were to attack you right now, there’s a ninety-nine percent chance I’d kill you. Even the person behind you wouldn’t have time to protect you. Do you believe that?"
The person Faye Dee referred to behind Joe Di was Miles Phantom, but Joe Di just smiled indifferently, not caring at all. "I don’t believe you," he replied.
After speaking, Joe Di calmly looked at Faye Dee. If Faye Dee really attacked, he wouldn’t hesitate to toss her out. He despised the Five Grand Sect Masters’ actions and could easily deal with those old men privately—well, the remaining four, anyway—but that didn’t mean he was doing it for Faye Dee.
Faye Dee was surprised to see Joe Di show no fear, not even a hint of caution. She asked, "Do you really have the strength to stand against Ju Qi?"
Joe Di replied calmly, "Not only am I unafraid if you attack, even if your father were here and both of you attacked me together, I still wouldn’t fear it."
Upon hearing this, Faye Dee didn’t take Joe Di’s words to heart. Claiming he didn’t fear her father was just boasting. Perhaps speaking with Joe Di made Faye Dee momentarily forget her hatred, and her tone softened. "No wonder you dared to challenge Henry Ren, who was ranked one hundred and six on the Sea List."
Joe Di had just claimed he didn’t fear even those at the Tribulation King Stage, so challenging Henry Ren at rank one hundred and six on the Sea List was nothing special. Faye Dee’s words were clearly mocking Joe Di for not knowing his limits.
"In that case, suit yourself." Seeing that Faye Dee didn’t want to speak openly, Joe Di lost interest in continuing the conversation with her.
But Faye Dee didn’t leave. She took a deep breath and said, "Though I’m ranked twenty-third on the Sea List, I don’t fear any of the Five Young Lords. My father simply doesn’t know that. I know you don’t believe me..."
Joe Di interrupted Faye Dee, "You’re wrong. I do believe you, and I believe that if you wanted to, you could be number one on the Sea List. If I’m not mistaken, your spiritual sense is probably close to level nine. In the Central Realm, even Transforming True cultivators may not have a level nine spiritual sense."
Faye Dee thought Joe Di was mocking her at first, but as he continued, she realized he wasn’t. She was deeply shocked and, after a long pause, said quietly, "You guessed right. My spiritual sense really is close to level nine. If you can tell me how you knew, I’m willing to tell you why my spiritual sense is so strong. I might even share my secret with you—after all, you carry the Di Family bloodline."
Joe Di smiled slightly. "Actually, you should already know how I figured it out, but since you want me to say it, I’ll repeat myself. The first time you climbed the Fivefold Dao Tower, you reached the ninetieth floor and stopped. It wasn’t because you couldn’t go higher, but because the ninetieth floor is where spiritual sense is refined. If only one person reaches the ninetieth floor, there’s only one cushion, so the other two couldn’t stay and refine their spiritual sense there."
The second time, you could have reached the top, but again, you only aimed for the ninetieth floor. When you got there, you found the cushion was gone, so you had to go to the ninety-first floor. Once you arrived, you realized the danger and decided not to continue to the ninety-second floor. That’s why I say those five old men aren’t wrong to suspect you."
After hearing Joe Di’s explanation, Faye Dee stared at him for several minutes before finally saying, "You’re very clever. That’s exactly what happened. You should be worried, though—everyone who has suspected this before was killed by me."
Joe Di just chuckled and didn’t even bother to reply this time.
Seeing that Joe Di didn’t take her words seriously, Faye Dee had no choice but to continue, "Actually, the Fivefold Dao Tower really does have something like the Fivefold Dao Disk. It’s called the Fivefold Dao Mark..."
Although Joe Di had guessed that Faye Dee possessed the Fivefold Dao Tower’s secret, her words still surprised him. The tower really did have something like the Fivefold Dao Disk—his guess had been spot on.
Faye Dee stretched out her hand and rolled up her sleeve. On her fair wrist was a faint pattern. At first glance, it looked like a tattoo.
Joe Di, with his tenth-level spiritual sense, immediately sensed the foundational laws he’d comprehended in the Fivefold Dao Tower as soon as he looked at the mark. Faye Dee hadn’t lied—this faint pattern was indeed connected to the Fivefold Dao Tower, or rather, it was the Fivefold Dao Mark itself.
This meant that if Faye Dee wished, she could easily reach the one hundred and eighth floor. The Fivefold Dao Tower was truly a treasure, and Faye Dee held the key to unlocking it. As long as she reached the one hundred and eighth floor, the tower would become hers.
After Joe Di examined the Fivefold Dao Mark, Faye Dee continued, "When I leave the Central Realm this time, I’ll go kill the remaining four Grand Sect Masters. Once I’ve done that, I’ll claim the Fivefold Dao Tower for myself. If I ever fall, the Fivefold Dao Mark will be yours. If you help me kill those I couldn’t finish off, the mark contains a method for refining spiritual sense. As for my father’s request for you to protect me on Little Central Star, don’t worry about it—just tell him you agree when the time comes."
Joe Di had originally invited Faye Dee in to comfort her and discuss how to deal with the Five Grand Sect Masters, but he hadn’t expected her to be so proud. As for her promise to give him the Fivefold Dao Mark if she died, Joe Di just chuckled—only a fool would believe such things.
This woman was so cunning that Joe Di even suspected the lifelessness in her eyes was fake. If she could even fake that, then the Five Grand Sect Masters would eventually fall by her hand.
It seemed that next time he entered the Fivefold Dao Tower, he had to hurry to the one hundred and eighth floor. Otherwise, if this woman took the tower, he’d lose his chance to collect all one hundred and eight foundational Dao laws.
After sending Faye Dee off, Joe Di decided to go into seclusion and cultivate.
Two months passed in a flash. One day, the restriction at the entrance of Joe Di’s cave residence was triggered. He opened it and saw Miles Phantom already standing outside his room.
"Joe Di, Little Central Star is about to open. Let’s head out." Miles Phantom was energetic, and Joe Di could tell he’d gained a lot. But after two months in seclusion, Joe Di was still only at the third level of the Cauldron Stage.
The Mindforge technique didn’t necessarily require Firegod Herb, but using Firegod Herb with Mindforge was much more effective.
When Joe Di and Miles Phantom put away their cave residence and arrived at the grand plaza, the area was already packed with cultivators. In the center of the plaza stood an enormous round altar. Joe Di recognized the person standing atop it—it was Lord Goldwin, the Domain Lord of the Heavenly Gold Domain, who had previously forced the Five Young Lords to hand over their spiritual sense techniques.
Lord Goldwin swept his gaze over the crowd, but Joe Di felt his spiritual sense linger on him a little longer. Joe Di shuddered instinctively, wondering if, had Miles Phantom not been with him lately, Lord Goldwin might have quietly taken him away.
"Little Central Star is about to open. All the spirit herbs inside are at least a thousand years old, and there are many high-grade ones. This is the opportunity of Little Central World, a sacred place every cultivator dreams of. This time, I’m presiding over the opening, and the rules are the same as before. Only cultivators from the Five Continents may enter, and their cultivation must be below the Transforming True Stage..."
As Lord Goldwin spoke, Joe Di was puzzled. Little Central Star opened every hundred years, so how could all the spirit herbs be at least a thousand years old? Just then, Miles Phantom sent a voice transmission into Joe Di’s ear, "Joe Di, Edward Carter, the sect master of the Immortal Watch Sect, has arrived. He’s probably looking for you."