Within the vast expanse of the Grand Ruins, Joe Di had just unearthed the last Cloudveil Immortal Fruit Tree. He was certain that beneath it lay a Dao Vein of remarkable quality; otherwise, how could there be so many Dao Fruit Trees here? If he could obtain a Supreme Dao Vein, he would truly strike it rich.
After carefully transplanting all the Dao Fruit Trees into the Ninth World, Joe Di finally tossed a handful of Array Banners into the pit, then waved his hand once more.
A vast amount of earth was swept away by Joe Di, revealing a giant pit before him. Before he could react, a surge of Primordial Chaos Essence rushed out, leaving him momentarily stunned.
In just a few breaths, Joe Di sensed his cultivation, which had remained stagnant through countless closed-door sessions, begin to loosen.
"Is this Primordial Chaos Essence?" Joe Di was dazed for a breath or two before he finally came to his senses. He hurriedly opened up a space within the Ninth World, frantically channeling the Primordial Chaos Essence inside.
This substance was undoubtedly a supreme treasure. Joe Di was certain that with this Primordial Chaos Essence, he had a great chance of reaching the Transformation Realm in the shortest time possible. Compared to the Primordial Chaos Essence before him, even a Supreme Dao Vein was nothing.
His Sacred Yin Pearl also contained Primordial Chaos Essence. After the Sacred Yin Pearl fused into his world, he had kept this Primordial Chaos Essence stored within the Ninth World.
But Joe Di knew better than anyone that the Primordial Chaos Essence in the Sacred Yin Pearl was nothing compared to what was here.
No matter how precious it was, the Primordial Chaos Essence in the Sacred Yin Pearl was still Primal Yin Essence. But the Primordial Chaos Essence here was completely attribute-less, a treasure born alongside heaven and earth itself.
Back at the Dao Exchange Gathering in the Nightfall Artifact Pavilion, a bottle containing just a tenth of Primordial Chaos Essence fetched a sky-high price. But the Primordial Chaos Essence here was far beyond those mere traces—this was the real thing.
Over time, in this kind of Primordial Chaos Essence, not only Dao Fruit but even the rarest treasures could grow to astonishing proportions. No wonder every Dao Fruit found here was so robust and flourishing.
Even with Joe Di's speed, a portion of the Primordial Chaos Essence here still drifted away. He couldn’t collect all the Primordial Chaos Essence, nor could he sweep up every bit of the soil—yet what he did gather was drawn into the Ninth World.
This trip into the Grand Ruins was truly a bountiful harvest—Joe Di could hardly restrain a triumphant laugh. Once he stepped into the Transformation Realm, he would find a secluded place to break through to Transformation Pill Saint.
Once he advanced to Transformation Pill Saint, he would use Dao Pills to rapidly accumulate his cultivation, confident he could soon step into the second stage.
After entering the second stage, the first thing he planned to do was to smash Jaden Dai's so-called royal den to pieces.
With so much Primordial Chaos Essence here, once he set up another Spirit Gathering Array and scattered a pile of Dao Pills to cultivate in seclusion...
Just as Joe Di was imagining this, a sudden chill ran down his spine—he realized he'd overlooked something critically important.
What exactly was Primordial Chaos Essence? It was a treasure from the dawn of creation itself. The moment he broke open the Primordial Chaos Essence here, countless people must have sensed it. If he stayed to cultivate in seclusion, he’d be courting death.
Realizing the danger, Joe Di no longer dared to remain in seclusion here. At the fastest speed, he gathered up his Array Banner and dashed madly out of the formation, racing toward the fourth layer of the Grand Ruins.
Rushing through the Grand Ruins meant risking his life, but even that was better than staying here and being surrounded and killed.
...
Jaden Dai suddenly stopped—he had sensed the Primordial Chaos Essence. Instantly, a wild desire flashed in his eyes: Primordial Chaos Essence!
There was only one explanation for the appearance of Primordial Chaos Essence—a chaos treasure had emerged. Even Jaden Dai dared not imagine that pure Primordial Chaos Essence would manifest here.
Even though Serena Yu had left the Grand Ruins some time ago, it wasn’t difficult for Jaden Dai to track the path she’d taken. The reason he forced Serena Yu to reveal her location was simply to create an excuse for himself.
Now that Primordial Chaos Essence had appeared, Jaden Dai could no longer suppress his inner ecstasy. He raced at full speed toward the source of the Primordial Chaos Essence.
Soon, to his delight, he discovered that the source of the Primordial Chaos Essence was almost exactly along the path Serena Yu had taken when she left.
It was the first time Jaden Dai had ever felt so excited—the last time was when he obtained the Five Direction Banners. But then he remembered that the things he’d set up had been destroyed, and the Five Direction Banners had somehow been taken to the Dao Domain.
And the one who had taken his Five Direction Banners was most likely Joe Di.
...
Joe Di was lucky. At top speed, he reached the entrance between the third and fourth layers of the Grand Ruins. Though he encountered danger along the way, his formidable divine sense and acute awareness of cosmic laws allowed him to pass through unscathed.
Arriving at the entrance to the fourth layer of the Grand Ruins, Joe Di didn’t hesitate—he charged straight into the fourth layer.
"Pfft!" Almost as soon as Joe Di entered the fourth layer, a vortex-shaped rule blade swept toward him. Even though he sensed it in advance, he couldn’t avoid it—his arm was sliced open, and then an entire arm fell away.
Before his severed arm hit the ground, another displaced rule swept past. If that rule struck his arm, it would be erased from existence.
Cold sweat broke out all over Joe Di—he moved at lightning speed, sweeping his severed limb into the Ninth World, then dodged away once more.
Boom! A massive Five Element Beast appeared in Joe Di’s path, hurling a shattered rule sphere right at him. The sphere struck Joe Di’s back, tearing his bones apart and sending him flying.
Joe Di didn’t dare linger—he decisively entered the Ninth World.
Inside the Ninth World, Joe Di spat out a mouthful of blood, hurriedly reattached his severed arm, then grabbed several healing Dao Pills and swallowed them, even taking two Dao Fruits.
The fourth layer was simply too terrifying. With his current strength, he didn’t even have a foothold here. If not for the Ninth World, he might not have survived.
If his arm was shattered by a displaced rule, it could indeed be regenerated. But Joe Di knew well—if his arm was destroyed, even if he used treasures to regrow it, his cultivation would suffer. As for advancing to the Transformation Realm in the short term, that would be impossible.
Even cultivating the Dao of rules wouldn’t help—Joe Di’s foundation was still too shallow. He hadn’t reached the level where he could recover from injuries to the flesh without consequence. If he had to spend a million years repairing his Dao Foundation like those old monsters, he’d probably die of frustration.
The Ninth World was unlike any other—born from Joe Di’s rule Dao, the Ninth Prime Law, and the Sacred Yin Pearl. This world itself was Joe Di’s rule Dao. After he entered the Ninth World, it quickly merged with the surrounding fragments of shattered rules, drawn deep into the fourth layer of the Grand Ruins.
...
Jaden Dai stood in the Dao Fruit Orchard, which Joe Di had already emptied, his fists clenched and his eyes burning with resentment and fury.
This was clearly a Dao Fruit Orchard, and every Dao Fruit had been dug out. Not only that, but beneath the orchard lay pure Primordial Chaos Essence. It wasn’t some treasure he’d guessed—it was Primordial Chaos Essence!
There was no doubt—the cultivator who took the Dao Fruits also claimed all the Primordial Chaos Essence here. Jaden Dai had arrived too late.
Outside the Dao Fruit Orchard was a top-tier divine array—it had taken Jaden Dai several days just to get in. If Joe Di was the one who dug up the Dao Fruits, then he must be the one who obtained the Five Direction Banners.
It wasn’t that Jaden Dai underestimated Joe Di—without the Five Direction Banners, a mere Dao cultivator like Joe Di could never have opened this Dao Fruit Orchard.
"Joe Di..." Jaden Dai gazed deeper into the third layer of the Grand Ruins, swearing he would drag this ant out no matter what.
All of this should have been his, and now it had been ruined by an ant. If Jaden Dai could swallow this humiliation, what right did he have to vie for the Dao Domain?