Hugh Yuen stared blankly at the long arrow about to pierce his brow, his heart filled with desolation. In truth, if he had just a moment more, he could have escaped this trap. But at that precise instant, time froze. All he could do was watch helplessly as the arrow split the void and pierced his brow—he could even feel the overwhelming surge of crimson.
Time began to flow again. Hugh Yuen's consciousness grew hazy. He seemed to hear his opponent remark that he, too, had a temper—then everything faded into endless chaos.
Joe Di put away the Heaven-Opening Pen and sighed, "What a shame. My skills are still unfinished. Once I've mastered them, killing someone would mean gaining a treasure of a whole world. What a pity..."
"Junior Brother Di, I never expected someone like you would remain in the Five Elements Universe and not go to the Gate of Creation. How fortunate for us..." Moria West recovered from her shock and greeted Joe Di with excitement.
Joe Di hurriedly said, "Senior Sister Mo, what are you doing?"
Moria West replied softly, "I used to think you refrained from taking advantage of me because you had a good temperament, or perhaps you were wary of me. Now I realize I was entirely mistaken. With your strength, taking my Celestial Map would have been effortless."
"Celestial Map?" Joe Di repeated in surprise.
Moria West nodded. "Yes, my treasure is the Celestial Map."
After speaking, Moria West took out her treasure, intending to show it to Joe Di. Joe Di waved his hand, "Senior Sister Mo, I've only heard it's powerful. I have my own treasures—there's no need to look."
Everyone's artifact is intimately tied to their life. No matter how generous Moria West was, Joe Di would never inspect another's treasure.
Moria West put away the Celestial Map and nodded. "Yes, the Creation Brush is indeed an ultimate primordial artifact, and so is the Book of Life and Death. I didn't expect you, Fellow Daoist Di, to have such fortune, to obtain the Creation Brush."
Both the Creation Brush and Book of Life and Death belong to the Shang Society's arts. To be honest, Joe Di himself was once very keen on these treasures. Primordial artifacts are, of course, extraordinary things.
After Void Mountain was torn apart by the cosmic arrow, Joe Di no longer cared as much about primordial artifacts as he once did.
In the Five Elements Universe, primordial artifacts are the ultimate treasures. But once you leave the Five Elements Universe, except for a select few, most of them lose their extraordinary power.
"Junior Brother Di, your strength may one day rival the Five Saints, but your weapon is far too weak. That blade of yours is just an ordinary knife." Moria West immediately saw Joe Di's weakness—if his blade were stronger, Qixi would have died even faster.
Joe Di's blade wave technique was truly dazzling, especially when fused with the laws of time—few could withstand it. Even at her peak, Moria West wondered if she could block six consecutive strikes.
Joe Di nodded. "My blade was damaged in the Vast Chaos. Right now, I don't have a suitable weapon; the one I used earlier was just something I forged on the spot."
Though that blade seemed inferior even to a common artifact, Joe Di knew well that it had merged with his domain rules, making it far from ordinary. Qixi's warhammer could block a few of his blade waves and perish together with his weapon—proof that it too was a treasure not beneath the level of primordial artifacts.
"The Trinity Universe has a top-tier material, capable of forging a blade surpassing any primordial artifact. It's a pillar from the dawn of the cosmos—I glimpsed it once when passing through the Trinity Universe," Moria West said eagerly. She hoped Joe Di could acquire a supreme blade, so he might one day return to the Creation Universe. In the war for the Creation World, the Five Elements Universe had far too few powerful cultivators.
Joe Di waved his hand. "I don't care much for weapons; the future can wait. Senior Sister Moria, your foundation must be damaged, right? Otherwise, those two three-eyed pursuers wouldn't have been your match."
Moria West nodded sadly. "Yes, my foundation was damaged in the Creation Universe. If I hadn't known my own fate, I wouldn't have escaped at all. Don't underestimate the cultivators of the Trinity Universe—the two you just faced were suppressed by you. But if you encounter an equal in power, their three eyes are truly terrifying. Those two weren't even ranked in the Trinity Universe, so if you ever return, you must be extremely cautious."
"Is the Trinity Universe the same as the Creation Universe?" Joe Di asked, puzzled.
Moria West shook her head. "No, there's no way out of the Creation Universe. I divined my own fate and, after passing through several universes and countless voids, I finally escaped through the Trinity Universe's cosmic teleportation gate."
"I've heard that once you enter the Creation World, you're bound by its Heavenly Dao. But Senior Sister Moria, I see your Dao foundation is only damaged, not shackled by the Heavenly Dao." Joe Di had met Weng Baigong, so he knew a bit about the Creation World.
Moria West looked at Joe Di in surprise. "You've met someone who escaped the Creation World? By the way, how did you get here from the Five Elements Universe?"
Joe Di did not hide anything. "Senior Sister Moria, I met a cultivator named Weng Baigong and even saved him. He was bound by the Creation Heavenly Dao restriction, but now he's entered the Vast Chaos—who knows what fate awaits him. He was always just cannon fodder, so he doesn't know much about the inside."
"Cannon fodder..." Moria West gave a self-mocking laugh. "Junior Brother Di, that's a fitting description. Indeed, we are cannon fodder. With your ability, you might be able to break the Creation Heavenly Dao restriction. But Weng Baigong never approached the Creation Dao Chasm, so the restriction on him was relatively weak. If you truly get close to the Dao Chasm, escaping alive is nearly impossible. I abandoned my own Dao artifact, the Fateshade Mirror, and only managed to escape by taking a circuitous route."
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"I passed through several universes, secretly used their cosmic channels, and in the Trinity Universe, I even used their cosmic crystals—otherwise, I couldn't have teleported out. You haven't encountered cosmic crystals yet; they're even more precious than innate treasures, and they're consumable."
"No wonder those three-eyed pursuers chased you," Joe Di said, suddenly understanding.
Moria West sighed. "They chased me not just for the cosmic crystals, but also to learn more about the Creation World from me. My escape from the Creation World was not out of fear—I wanted to bring news of the Creation World back to the Five Elements Universe. Even Daoist Zixiao could not intervene. If we don't bring this news back, our Five Elements Universe will eventually be erased from the Vast Void.
Junior Brother Di, this is no place to linger. Those two must have come using the cosmic crystals I hadn't yet used up. If word of their deaths spreads, even stronger cultivators will come after us."
Though Joe Di had countless questions, he knew now wasn't the time. "Senior Sister Moria, find us a way out—I'll follow you. I came here via the Cosmic Stairway, but when I tried to return, I couldn't find it anymore."
"You know about the Cosmic Stairway? And you used it to reach the Vast Chaos?" Moria West looked at Joe Di in astonishment, her expression incredulous.
Joe Di smiled. "I don't really know about the Cosmic Stairway, but someone named Gu Bu Ren did. He brought me here."
"Gu Bu Ren is still alive? And he was kind enough to bring you to the Cosmic Stairway?" Moria West was even more astonished.
Joe Di explained, "Gu Bu Ren wasn't being kind—he wanted something from me. He brought me to the Cosmic Stairway intending to ambush me, but his plot failed. I managed to escape the stairway, and not only is Gu Bu Ren alive, Du Bu is too. That old fellow is now hunting me across the Five Elements Universe, which is why I had to flee."
Moria West drew a sharp breath. Joe Di spoke of Du Bu so casually, but she knew far better than him what kind of person Du Bu was—a Demon King, the number one existence in the universe. For Joe Di to survive Du Bu's pursuit was nothing short of miraculous. She was certain Du Bu's cultivation must have fallen, otherwise Joe Di would never have survived.
(Irrelevant author note skipped.)