After parting ways with Quentin Di, Joe Di quickened his pace toward Celestial Beyond. In less than a day, he had already arrived outside its boundaries.
Standing on the void plaza outside Celestial Beyond, Joe Di was filled with emotion. Cultivation truly knows no passage of time—so many years had passed since he left this place and now returned.
Without entering Celestial Beyond, Joe Di swept his divine sense inside. Nora Xiu was still in seclusion, her aura already at the peak of Dao Integration, frantically cultivating to break through to the Dao Origin realm. Judging by her dedication, even when someone attacked Celestial Beyond's protective formation earlier, she hadn’t intervened.
Joe Di reckoned that the person attacking the formation was suppressed by Moria West before Nora Xiu was even disturbed.
Shelby Young was also in seclusion, cultivating inside the Celestial Beyond Lord's Mansion. Clearly, Shelby Young was now in control of Celestial Beyond.
Moria West, the Destiny Dao Lord, was recovering from injuries. Joe Di didn’t probe into her residence, but the flow of Dao rhythm around it made her situation clear.
Joe Di simply took out array flags and continued to repair the grand formation of Celestial Beyond. With four Five Directions Flags suppressing the area, Joe Di believed that unless a dozen Third Step powerhouses came at once, it would be nearly impossible to break through the protective formation.
After reinforcing the protective formation, just as Joe Di was about to enter Celestial Beyond, he suddenly realized—why was there no cultivator guarding the void plaza outside?
Even if the previous guards had been killed, after Moria West taught the intruder a lesson, she should have assigned new guards.
While Joe Di was still hesitating at the entrance, two more figures descended onto the void plaza outside Celestial Beyond.
Joe Di’s eyes twitched when he saw the two newcomers—one was a Unity Realm cultivator, while the other’s cultivation level was completely indiscernible to Joe Di. The Dao rhythm around him was vague, suggesting he didn’t practice the Five Elements Universe’s techniques.
Among them, the Unity Realm cultivator looked very young, handsome, and had a lively gaze. The other, whose cultivation Joe Di couldn’t discern, was dressed as a scholar—middle-aged, with long hair tied into a starry bun. Truthfully, there were few scholar-dressed cultivators in the void nowadays.
"Are you the guard of Celestial Beyond?" The middle-aged scholar fixed his gaze on Joe Di, speaking in a calm tone. He was clearly surprised, as he couldn’t see through Joe Di’s cultivation either.
"That’s right, I am the guard of Celestial Beyond. What brings you here?" As Joe Di spoke, he saw Moria West and Shelby Young approaching.
Shelby Young’s cultivation was progressing rapidly. If she kept advancing at this rate, Joe Di believed she would soon step into the Third Step.
"Brother Di..." Shelby Young was overjoyed to see Joe Di return.
Moria West stepped forward happily as well, saying, "Junior Brother Di, you’re back."
Joe Di had gone to hunt down Basil Walker, which had left Moria West a bit worried. Basil Walker’s strength was truly formidable.
"Open the array gate. I need to go in and speak with the person in charge here about a few matters." The middle-aged scholar frowned slightly, but his tone remained gentle.
Joe Di nodded to Moria West, then pointed to Shelby Young and said, "She is the person in charge of Celestial Beyond. Whatever you have to say, you can say it here."
Especially that middle-aged scholar—even Joe Di couldn’t discern his cultivation level. Joe Di strongly suspected this man wasn’t from the Five Elements Universe.
Shelby Young remained silent. Joe Di rarely stayed at Celestial Beyond, so it was Shelby Young who had always looked after it. Thus, Joe Di wasn’t wrong to call her the person in charge.
"You’re the one in charge?" The middle-aged scholar glanced at Shelby Young, then at Joe Di. He could see Shelby Young’s cultivation—clearly she hadn’t reached the Third Step. But Joe Di’s cultivation was odd, and recalling Shelby Young had called him Brother Di, the scholar began to understand.
"Whatever business you have, you can speak directly to me," Shelby Young said.
The middle-aged scholar nodded. "Very well, I’ll be direct. My name is Victor Chao, and I’ve come from a distant place. I have only one purpose: to find Ye Mo. I’ve heard Ye Mo is at Celestial Beyond and is an important figure here."
Ye Mo? Nora Xiu, Moria West, and Joe Di exchanged glances. All three knew who Ye Mo was. Before the War of Creation, Ye Mo had indeed been a leading figure of Celestial Beyond.
Moria West suddenly asked, "What business do you have with Dao Lord Ye?"
Ye Mo was a very good friend of hers, and he had even cultivated a branch of her Destiny technique. In terms of strength, she was far inferior to Ye Mo, but Moria West greatly admired Ye Mo’s character and conduct.
Victor Chao replied, "Ye Mo took something from my sect. So many years have passed—it’s time he returned it. I came here to ask him to give it back."
Joe Di had never met Ye Mo, but he’d heard some stories about him. He was also friends with Ye Mo’s daughter, Emily Ye, and had even saved her once.
At that moment, Moria West’s injuries were clearly not fully healed, and Shelby Young’s strength wasn’t enough to speak up. So Joe Di stepped forward and said, "May I ask, what exactly did Ye Mo take from you?"
"Well..." Victor Chao hesitated, not revealing the answer.
Joe Di said coolly, "If you can’t say, then please leave. Celestial Beyond does not welcome strangers."
Victor Chao nodded. "There’s no harm in saying. It’s the Three Golden Pages. Those pages originally belonged to our Dao Master. When our Dao Master entered seclusion, he didn’t notice that the pages were stolen by a disciple. After many years of searching, we finally traced the Three Golden Pages to the Five Elements Universe. I was sent here, and sure enough, I discovered they had been taken by a cultivator named Ye Mo."
Moria West retorted sarcastically, "The Three Golden Pages are one of the five great treasures created after the birth of the Five Elements Universe. When did they become your Dao Master’s possessions? Not even Dominic Du would dare claim the pages as his own, let alone your Dao Master."
Victor Chao replied calmly, "Whether they are or not, let Ye Mo come out and answer for himself."
"How many matters do you think Dao Lord Ye would discuss with people of unknown origin like you?" Shelby Young could tell the visitor was hostile, so her tone grew sharp.
Victor Chao remained calm. "If he refuses to come out, don’t blame me for being discourteous."
As he spoke, Victor Chao suddenly reached out toward the formation gate.
Joe Di didn’t move at all, sneering inwardly. He didn’t believe this man could break through the formation he’d just reinforced.
Bang! The formation gate merely trembled for a moment before returning to normal.
This man was truly formidable. Joe Di was certain Victor Chao had only used thirty percent of his strength, yet even that was enough to shake Celestial Beyond’s formation. He was clearly far stronger than the Lucas Family’s Unity cultivators.
"Hmm?" Victor Chao stared at the formation gate in surprise. With his strength, opening such a gate should have been easy, yet even with thirty percent of his power, it only trembled slightly. Clearly, even if he went all out, he might not be able to break through.
Victor Chao extended his hand, and a giant axe appeared in his palm. His scholarly attire contrasted oddly with the massive weapon.
Dao rhythm gathered around the axe, and in the next instant, an overwhelming killing intent swept forth. Even though Victor Chao hadn’t moved, the pressure forced Shelby Young to retreat.
Joe Di unhesitatingly drew his long blade, fixing his gaze on the middle-aged scholar. "You just tried to claw open Celestial Beyond’s gate and I let it slide. If you dare take another step, I guarantee you won’t see tomorrow’s sun."
Joe Di’s own aura pressed forward, instantly scattering Victor Chao’s killing intent. Victor Chao stared at Joe Di in shock—how could the Five Elements Universe have such a formidable figure?