Manna Zhen's expectant gaze never left Joe Di. She hoped that after Joe finished speaking with the other bigwigs, he would come over and talk to her alone, maybe even tell her where to find him in the Little Central World. Unfortunately, after his conversation, Joe only exchanged a few words with Di Di and Tian Ku, never once approaching her.
President Hiram Hai was already instructing them to head to the teleportation array, so Manna Zhen could only leave in disappointment with him.
To say she had no regrets would be impossible, but for Manna Zhen, curiosity outweighed everything else. She longed for Joe Di to sit before her and explain everything in detail. She even thought, if they were still back in Pearl City, Joe wouldn't have needed any prompting—he would have come over and told her everything himself.
Naturally, Joe Di had no intention of wasting words with Manna Zhen. After shattering the illusion of his youthful infatuation, she was no different from any ordinary woman to him. In fact, he rather despised her character.
He had already read the aptitude jade slip that Hiram Hai gave him. Manna Zhen possessed a single gold spiritual root with a trace of impurity, while Yu Yongzhen had a single fire spiritual root, also with a trace of impurity. Moreover, the record clearly stated that Yu Yongzhen's spiritual root was purer than Manna Zhen's.
This showed that Twinwave Sect hadn't actually played favorites, but had made decisions based on facts. Manna Zhen surely understood this, but she relied on her acquaintance with Joe Di to side against Twinwave Sect in this situation.
If it were someone else who truly liked Manna Zhen, this incident could have been a disaster for Twinwave Sect. So it was no wonder that Headmaster Benjamin Feather looked panicked when Manna Zhen complained to Joe Di.
Manna Zhen came from an ordinary mortal vassal state. By rights, Twinwave Sect had done her a great favor by accepting her as a disciple. Yet, in her eagerness to enter the Little Central World, she completely disregarded their kindness, attacking Twinwave Sect at such a moment—her actions were truly excessive and ungrateful.
Besides, given Manna Zhen's aptitude, even if she made it onto the list of twenty, she would likely be eliminated in the end. Under these circumstances, it would be strange for Joe Di to feel any goodwill toward her.
Manna Zhen might think that knowing Joe Di would guarantee her a spot. But in reality, if Miles Phantom couldn't help, and only five genius disciples from Yalen Continent could enter the Little Central World, Joe Di would choose the five according to the rules without hesitation—and Manna Zhen would still be left out.
......
Northridge Mountain, Jade Nation.
Joe Di stood at the spot where he left last time, feeling a bit dazed. Everything that had happened seemed as if it were just yesterday.
If he hadn't obtained the Graystone here, if the Graystone hadn't absorbed a bolt of golden lightning here, if Trevor Qu hadn't come to deliver a message, if the golden lightning hadn't split open a rift when it struck...
If any one of these things had been missing, Joe Di would have long since perished, leaving not even a trace of his bones.
Unfortunately, he never found Trevor Qu. After seeing Di Di off, he visited the Qu family, asked about Trevor's possible whereabouts, and spent another two months searching, but still had no results.
Joe Di could only return to Earth for now. He decided that once his spiritual sense could cover the entire Yalen Continent, he would try searching for Trevor Qu again.
He chose Northridge Mountain as his departure point for Earth because it was from here that he had left and ended up on Earth before. The mysteries of the void are unfathomable; perhaps this isn't a reliable method, but leaving from here offered a slightly higher chance of success than anywhere else.
After making all the necessary preparations, Joe Di took out a Realmshatter Talisman and activated it.
Once activated, the Realmshatter Talisman unleashed a terrifying power of the void. Sensing the overwhelming force, Joe Di was shocked—if he had been within the talisman's range, he would have been utterly annihilated by that void power.
Crack! The void echoed with a rending sound as a rift was torn open out of thin air. Joe Di extended his spiritual sense to its fullest, feeling the void rift created by the Realmshatter Talisman expanding. Within his sense, he could perceive the aura of one realm after another flashing past, but the pain in his mind grew and his head began to spin.
Joe Di was secretly relieved—luckily, his sea of consciousness had reached level ten. If it were still below level nine, his spiritual sense wouldn't have been able to perceive the realm auras within the void rift. Finding Earth with the Realmshatter Talisman would have been impossible.
He had no idea how many realms his sense had crossed, but at last, Joe Di detected a faintly familiar aura. Without hesitation, he plunged into the rift.
Terrifying Void Wind Blades swept over him; in just the span of a single breath, Joe Di's body was covered in wounds, torn nearly to shreds.
Joe Di had no time to wonder how he managed to cross into Earth from here before. All he could do now was frantically circulate his body-forging technique. Stretching his spiritual sense to the limit, he charged toward that familiar aura, dodging massive Void Wind Blades and unknown spatial vortices along the way.
Unlike last time, when he used a flying device to traverse the void rift, this time Joe Di's spiritual sense remained clear, allowing him to sense his surroundings. As he pressed onward through the rift created by the Realmshatter Talisman, he realized that the void rift torn open by the talisman was nowhere near the same level as the one created by the golden lightning in his sea of consciousness.
Last time, even his flying device emerged unscathed. That meant the void rift created by the golden lightning was exceptionally thorough, sending him straight to Earth.
This time, the void rift from the Realmshatter Talisman was far inferior. Joe Di had no idea how long he'd been traveling through it, nor how many realms he'd crossed, and he still couldn't tell how far he was from Earth—or even if he was heading in the right direction.
As time passed, the rift's tearing effect weakened, and that familiar aura was about to vanish. Once it disappeared, the Realmshatter Talisman's effect would be gone completely. In that case, Joe Di would have only one option: to activate another Realmshatter Talisman. Otherwise, he'd be trapped in the void rift forever.
Joe Di was consumed by anxiety, no longer caring about the risk of being torn in half by Void Wind Blades. He immediately unleashed his Spirit Shift technique.
"Pfft!" A surge of agony shot up from Joe Di's leg, but in that instant, he sensed a flash of light and burst forward.
"Bang!" As Joe Di charged through, the closing void rift slammed into his back, shattering all the bones in his body.
Desperately, Joe Di wove a net of spiritual sense to support his body, collapsing to the ground.
The moment he hit the ground, his sea of consciousness throbbed with pain, and his spiritual sense could no longer extend. Still, Joe Di breathed a sigh of relief. Whether this was Earth or not, he now understood: even with tenth-level spiritual sense, using the Realmshatter Talisman to cross realms was extremely dangerous. If his sense were below level ten, the journey would have been suicidal.
His bones were torn apart, and a Void Wind Blade had sliced more than two-thirds through his thigh. For now, Joe Di could only stay put and heal, circulating the Titan Body Technique.
There's no denying that the void is the best place for body refinement. As Joe Di crossed the void rift, his Titan Body Technique activated, and his body refinement progressed several times faster than elsewhere. Even after leaving the rift, he could clearly feel his physical strength soaring.
"Crack, crack, crack!" The sound of bones echoed in succession as Joe Di frantically operated the Titan Body Technique.
Sure enough, after another day passed, Joe Di's body began to tremble; his bones crackled, and waves of thunderous sound burst from within, finally fading away.
Joe Di let out a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat fortunate. Using the Realmshatter Talisman this time nearly cost him his life, but it wasn't all for nothing—at least he had managed to use the experience of crossing the void rift to push his body refinement into the Tribulation stage of the Tri-God Realm.
With a Tribulation-stage body, even if an Ascendant struck him with full force, his body shouldn't shatter.
"Friend, are you injured?" A tall man carrying a long rifle approached Joe Di, with another man carrying a longbow following behind.
Joe Di had already noticed these two approaching, but his body had just broken through to the Tribulation stage. Now, hearing the man's words, he was delighted—this was Mandarin.
"It's just a minor injury, nothing serious," Joe Di replied, standing up. The Titan Body Technique's benefits were fully evident; after breaking through to the Tribulation stage, his wounds vanished. Only his sea of consciousness still ached, preventing his spiritual sense from extending. Otherwise, with his tenth-level sense, he could cover the entire Earth.
What puzzled Joe Di was why these two were openly carrying restricted weapons. The rifle slung on the man's back was clearly not just a hunting gun, but a real assault rifle.
The man with the rifle was tall, his hair messy and unkempt. Looking at Joe Di, who was covered in blood, he said, "Your injuries look serious. Did you run into a demon beast? If you can't fight, I suggest you head to the supply station."
Demon beast? Supply station? Is this really Earth?