Joe Di waved his hand, "No need. We're just exchanging items, so neither of us owes the other anything. Of course, you can tell me who harmed you—I despise that kind of scum. If I ever run into them, I'll help you take them out."
The Lotus Sage sighed, "I'm afraid you won't be her match. She has likely stepped into the Third Step, and she possesses the Genesis Lotus..."
The Lotus Sage stopped speaking at this point, knowing that Joe Di was certainly no match for Cynthia Xing. Saying more would only put Joe Di in danger.
"Since you don't want to say, then I'll be leaving. I need to go to the Realmrift to search for the Duality Blossom. Of course, if you need the Duality Blossom as well, I could take you with me. But let me be clear—you'll only get a share if I find more than two pairs." Joe Di knew this Lotus Sage was no ordinary figure, but he didn't want to waste any more time here.
The Lotus Sage immediately said, "That's exactly what I wanted to tell you. I know you're looking for the Duality Blossom. With your current method of tearing through domains, you won't be able to reach the Realmrift."
"You have a way?" Joe Di asked in surprise, unable to hide his excitement.
Back then, Joe Di had never managed to tear open the domain between the two realms, so he never had the chance to go there. The Lotus Sage was a powerful ancient figure, someone from the same era as Samuel Shang—perhaps she really did have a way.
The Lotus Sage said, "I do have a way, but I don't even have a jade slip on hand. Give me a jade slip, and I'll engrave it for you."
Without hesitation, Joe Di pulled out a ring and tossed it to the Lotus Sage. "Everything in this ring is yours—as long as you give me the method to reach the Realmrift."
A gentle wave of Dao rhythm swept over, pulling Joe Di's ring into the lotus seed. Then the delighted voice of the Lotus Sage rang out, "Joe Di, thank you. You are a magnanimous cultivator—more generous than any I've met before."
The ring Joe Di gave contained not only a supreme spirit vein, but also several high-grade spirit veins and a pile of top-grade spirit crystals. In addition, there were all kinds of Dao pills. That was why the Lotus Sage said Joe Di was a generous cultivator.
Joe Di waved his hand, "I just happened to have a surplus of these, so I thought I'd help you out."
Joe Di's possessions hadn't just fallen into his lap—if the Lotus Sage ever returned to the world, she would be far from ordinary. Since that was the case, he did her a favor; it might come in handy someday. The items in that ring were dispensable to him, but for the Lotus Sage, they were treasures that could save her life.
"You've helped me too much; I won't thank you with words." With that, the Lotus Sage had already engraved a jade slip and tossed it to Joe Di.
As soon as Joe Di's divine sense touched the jade slip, he was instantly delighted.
Some things are like a thin layer of paper—once someone pokes through it for you, everything becomes clear. If Joe Di had tried to figure it out himself, it would have taken many years. It wasn't just about strength; it required experience.
"There may not always be a Duality Blossom in the Realmrift, but as long as you know this method, you'll eventually be able to find one." The voice of the Lotus Sage sounded in Joe Di's ear right on cue.
Joe Di put away the jade slip and cupped his fists, saying, "Lotus Sage, would you like to join me in searching for the Duality Blossom?"
The Lotus Sage replied, "Thank you for the Cosmic Essence. With this single drop, it's enough for me. What I need to restore my physical body isn't the Duality Blossom, but my lotus seed."
"In that case, I'll be on my way." Joe Di was a bit impatient. Back then, he had wasted too much time and energy simply because he didn't know how to tear open the Realmrift.
The Lotus Sage added, "I wish you success. By the way, the person who schemed against me back then is named Cynthia Xing. She was once my sword attendant, very beautiful but extremely cunning. If you ever meet her, be careful."
"Cynthia Xing?" Joe Di asked in surprise.
The Lotus Sage was also startled, "Joe Di, do you know her? That can't be right. With her ruthlessness and cunning, if she knew you possessed Cosmic Essence, she wouldn't let you go."
Joe Di chuckled, "You're right, I really did run into her. In the end, I taught her a lesson. If she hadn't escaped so quickly, I would have finished her off."
"That's impossible..." The Lotus Sage blurted out, then realized she was being hasty and explained, "After Cynthia Xing schemed against me, she stole my Genesis Lotus. Even just the Genesis Lotus alone would be impossible for you to overcome."
Joe Di replied calmly, "I have no reason to lie to you. That woman is indeed greedy—she coveted an ancestral artifact belonging to my friend and tried to snatch it, but I happened to be there. So I taught her a lesson. As for the Genesis Lotus, she definitely didn't have it. But she did have Twelve Lotus Blades, which are quite formidable."
"No Genesis Lotus..." The Lotus Sage repeated the phrase several times, then suddenly said, "I understand now. Her Genesis Lotus must have been stolen by someone else. If I'm not mistaken, her cultivation should be at the Genesis Realm, right?"
This time, it was Joe Di's turn to be surprised. "Lotus Sage, how did you know Cynthia Xing was at the Genesis Realm?"
The Lotus Sage sighed, "She's ruthless and a master of disguise. Since her Genesis Lotus isn't with her, it means someone took it. Whoever robbed her of the Genesis Lotus wouldn't let her live. The Cynthia Xing you met is likely her reincarnated self, so her strength would be greatly diminished. But she wouldn't be weak—if she were, she wouldn't have been able to escape from you. So, I suspect she's at the Genesis Realm."
Joe Di thought to himself, the older, the wiser. No wonder Cynthia Xing was so formidable—she was a reincarnated powerhouse.
"In that case, Fellow Daoist Joe, until we meet again." Hearing that Cynthia Xing had reincarnated, the Lotus Sage breathed a sigh of relief. What worried her most was not whether she could restore her physical body, but that once she did, the aura of the Chaos Lotus Seed would attract Cynthia Xing's attention. If Cynthia Xing sensed her recovery, she would likely come for her at once. That was why, all these years, the Lotus Sage had never dared to restore her body lightly.
Joe Di asked, "Lotus Sage, if your Genesis Lotus was stolen from Cynthia Xing, would you kill the person who took it to get it back once you return to the world?"
The Lotus Sage answered gravely, "That person killed Cynthia Xing, causing her to reincarnate, which partially avenged me. Unless they truly deserve death, I wouldn't stoop to such things. In the vast universe, there are countless treasures—what's a mere twelve-petal Genesis Lotus?"
Joe Di waved his hand, "That's right. I didn't save the wrong person—I admire those who know the difference between gratitude and grudges."
The Lotus Sage smiled, "Besides, the Genesis Lotus has thirty-six petals. What Cynthia Xing took was just twelve petals. The remaining twenty-four-petal Genesis Lotus is lost somewhere in the vast cosmos. Others may not be able to find it, but perhaps I can."
"Good." Joe Di cupped his fists again. "In that case, Lotus Sage, until we meet again."
With that, Joe Di tore open the void once more. Unlike last time, as soon as he did, waves of violent blade winds and chaotic void energies from the Realmrift surged forth. Joe Di was overjoyed—this was exactly what he hoped for. Without hesitation, he charged into the Realmrift, and the domain he had torn open quickly returned to its original state.
Watching Joe Di disappear, the Lotus Sage sighed, "What an upright and forthright man."
After saying this, the Dao rhythm aura on her lotus seed faded away completely. The gray lotus seed once again became indistinguishable from the surrounding stones. Since Joe Di said Cynthia Xing had reincarnated, she had to restore her physical body as quickly as possible. She absolutely couldn't wait for Cynthia Xing to grow strong before acting.