Five years later, Bolt docked the ship and came to a halt, yet Joe Di's cultivation had not advanced in the slightest.
Joe Di instructed Bolt to enter his Ninth World, then stood before a narrow Void Rift, somewhat surprised.
According to the map given by Dao Chuanxun, this Void Rift should be tens of thousands of feet long and several hundred feet wide. But the rift before Joe Di was at most a hundred feet long and only a foot wide.
To be honest, it was already quite impressive that Bolt managed to find this place using the orientation map.
Joe Di sent his spiritual sense into the rift, only for it to be instantly shredded. Blades of void energy and fragments of shattered meteorites swept out from within; even with Joe Di's strength, these violent blades could injure him.
Joe Di frowned. Entering a Void Rift on the verge of collapse was far more dangerous than usual.
But he had no choice. In a few more years, this rift might disappear completely.
After only a few moments of hesitation, Joe Di stepped into the Void Rift without a second thought. He was different from others: first, he possessed a Sacred Body; second, he had the Ninth World.
If anything went wrong, he could always escape using the Ninth World.
As soon as Joe Di entered the Void Rift, violent void compression surged toward him. With his peak Dao Origin strength, and as a cultivator of cosmic laws, he braced himself.
Under the immense crushing force of the void, Joe Di couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood. His bones cracked with sharp sounds, fractures spreading throughout, and he could clearly feel his organs being compressed and shattered.
The space blades that struck the blood mist around Joe Di were nothing compared to the injuries caused by this void compression.
Joe Di finally understood why the Void Rift had shrunk from hundreds of feet wide to just a foot—it was because of this terrifying void compression.
This void compression was almost like interface compression. Even if Joe Di reached the Integration stage, not just Dao Origin peak, he wouldn't be able to withstand it.
He urgently tried to enter the Ninth World, but to his horror, he found himself unable to break free from the void compression. His spiritual sense was bound and he couldn't move at all.
Fear and panic were useless now. Gritting his teeth, Joe Di began to circulate his body-refining technique.
After activating his body-refining technique, Joe Di felt a bit of relief, but the compression still made it hard to breathe. His organs kept rupturing, and he occasionally spat out fragments of shattered viscera.
While refining his body, Joe Di also began to circulate his Law Cycle. With both the Law Cycle and body-refining technique operating together, he felt some relief. Though his bones continued to crack and his organs kept breaking, the pace had slowed considerably. If not for his Sacred Body and deep understanding of cosmic laws, his physical recovery would not outpace the destruction, and he would soon collapse.
At this moment, all Joe Di could do was find balance between the Law Cycle and body-refining technique, ideally merging the two. That way, he could focus more on restoring his physical body.
Time passed slowly, and the rift seemed endless.
When the damage from the void compression and his body's automatic healing reached equilibrium, Joe Di finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The crisis was over, but the Void Rift still seemed endless. He had been inside for a hundred years and still saw no way out.
...
Beside a desolate gravel shore in the Dao Domain.
Boom! Manna Zhen was swept out by a violent force and landed on the open ground of the gravel shore.
At this moment, she couldn't care about the blood mist covering her body, or even her tattered clothes—she scrambled to her feet in desperation.
Her face was filled with excitement as she knelt down, murmuring, "I've finally succeeded. I've arrived at the legendary Dao Domain. I did it..."
The divine spiritual energy of the world around her confirmed that she hadn't made a mistake—she was indeed in the Dao Domain.
After four thousand years of cultivation, she had ascended to the Dao Domain. She might be the only one to have done so.
It was only after a full incense stick's time that Manna Zhen slowly calmed herself, clenching her fists and standing up.
Who would have thought that she, once an ordinary woman of mediocre talent, could stand in the Dao Domain today? Compared to other cultivators, her only advantage was her appearance.
Fortunately, Joe Di brought her to the Central Realm. Though her talent was average, she knew how to use her relationship with Joe Di. In the Central Realm, Joe Di was at the peak of his fame. By hinting at their past, she could always secure extra help.
But her greatest fortune was the opportunity she received—a Millennium Divinewood Essence in the cultivation world. After consuming it, her talent was completely transformed. She was able to join a top sect, the Kun Sect.
She knew very well that the Kun Sect had conflicts with Joe Di, and that Joe Di had killed more than one of their True Transformation experts. But what did that matter? She only cared about power.
Within the Kun Sect, she ascended to the Twilight Immortal Era in just a thousand years.
Even with her improved talent, Manna Zhen knew that only cultivation resources could speed her progress. She knew Joe Di had ascended to the Immortal Realm long ago, so she searched everywhere for news of him in the Twilight Immortal Era. To her disappointment, she found nothing. She guessed Joe Di must have perished—being powerful in the cultivation world doesn't guarantee survival in the Immortal Realm.
Yet, her search led her to another supreme opportunity. In a hidden valley of the Twilight Immortal Era, she discovered a Voidfire Lotus and a divine fire cultivation technique. The Voidfire Lotus transformed her spiritual root into the highest-grade mutated fire root.
Not only that, the Voidfire Lotus remained in her Spiritual Sea, constantly helping her improve.
Thanks to the mutated fire lotus, she reached peak Immortal Emperor in just three thousand years in the Twilight Immortal Era. Her luck didn't end there—seeking ascension, she found an ancient Five Elements World and used it to reach the Dao Domain.
Manna Zhen stood and clenched her fists, even believing she was favored by the heavens. Otherwise, how could so many supreme opportunities fall into her lap? Maybe one day, she would become a ruler of the cosmos. In the Divine Realm, she must rely on the fire lotus to quickly raise her strength. Only when her power is sufficient can she claim the Five Elements World for herself.
"Oh? Did you just come from the Immortal Realm?" A surprised voice interrupted Manna Zhen's excited fantasies.
Startled, Manna Zhen quickly turned her head and saw two women. The one in the pale blue dress was even more beautiful than her, with features so exquisite she seemed to have stepped out of a painting.
Behind the woman in pale blue was a young girl in red, who also stared at Manna Zhen in astonishment.
Realizing what was happening, Manna Zhen hurriedly bowed and greeted, "Manna Zhen greets the two seniors. I did not ascend normally; I was accidentally swept into a void vortex, and by sheer luck survived and was brought here."
She would never admit she ascended from the Five Elements World—she had already decided to claim it as her own treasure.
The woman in pale blue scrutinized Manna Zhen again before sighing, "Your talent is the rarest I've ever seen. If I'm not mistaken, you're under ten thousand years old, and already a peak Immortal Emperor. Such talent is extremely rare, even in the Dao Domain."
Manna Zhen was shocked and dared not say a word.
After her sigh, the woman continued, "I come from Liyun Palace, one of the three great hidden sects in the Dao Domain. My name is Lan Ru. Would you like to join Liyun Palace with me?"