Quinn Moten nodded in agreement. "Yes, it seems He Wang also knows that Zhu Sui Buling has arrived. Even if we were discreet, there's no guarantee He Wang won't say anything."
"Let's not worry about that for now. We should save the woman from the Five Elements Universe first. I think I've heard of her before, but I don't know how she ended up so careless, falling victim to a deadly ambush." Joe Di looked at the woman lying on the ground and shook his head.
After consuming a Third Step Life Dao Fruit, the woman opened her eyes. Seeing Joe Di and Quinn Moten standing nearby, watching her, she tried to leap to her feet. But her injuries were too severe; she collapsed onto the deck before she could rise.
Joe Di handed her a Dao Pill. "Heal your wounds first. We'll talk once you're better. Moten, can you take control of the ship for me? I need to sort a few things out."
"Are you Quinn Moten?" The woman finally realized, apparently recognizing Quinn Moten. Her face showed a hint of panic—she was clearly afraid of him.
Quinn Moten understood why. It was surely something done by the evil corpse he had severed. Unable to explain, he simply cupped his fists to the woman. "Don't worry. Just focus on healing your injuries."
With that, Quinn Moten went straight to control the spaceship artifact, knowing that saying anything else would be pointless.
Seeing Joe Di and Quinn Moten leave one after the other, the woman finally calmed her anxious heart and turned her gaze to the Dao Pill in her hand.
"Is this a Third Step Dao Pill?" The woman nearly cried out in shock.
Rumor had it that only Quan Yi, the First Pill Saint of Creation Sacred Dao City, could refine a Third Step Dao Pill. Even Quan Yi could only make World-Creating Dao Pills. But the Dao Pill in her hand was clearly not a World-Creating Dao Pill—could it be a Convergence Dao Pill?
She quickly put the Dao Pill into her mouth. As soon as it entered, it transformed into boundless vitality, and she felt her injuries rapidly fading away. The dissipated Dao rhythm within her also swiftly gathered again.
This truly was a Convergence Dao Pill.
...
After Joe Di returned to the cabin, the first thing he did was enter his own world.
Inside his world, he saw mountains of upper-grade and supreme-grade resources, even Heaven-opening divine veins and divine essence veins—everywhere he looked, it was either upper-grade or supreme-grade. As for divine crystals, they stretched out into entire mountain ranges.
Pools of divine essence were linked one after another, but Joe Di didn't pay much attention to them. Back in the Five Elements Universe, when he was in that fake Sacred Dao City, he had obtained more than enough divine essence.
The Third Step Dao Fruit Orchard and the divine herb garden, stretching nearly a thousand miles, were organized neatly and cleanly.
Mountains of refining materials were piled high. All kinds of jade slips—techniques, divine powers, knowledge—were directly stored in towering pagodas, layer upon layer.
Although there were only a dozen or so cosmic divine crystals, Joe Di knew that if not for a stroke of luck in witnessing the vast chaos open a cosmic passage, he probably wouldn't have even one.
Joe Di couldn't help but sigh. Compared to those Third Step powerhouses, he was nothing but a pauper. It made him realize just how many treasures he had squandered back in the Insect Realm. Over a hundred Convergence cultivators—even if they weren't as wealthy as Zhu Sui Buling, they surely weren't poor either.
That was something he couldn't help. Before he reached the Convergence stage, the cosmic rules hadn't truly taken shape, and even if he wanted to open a Convergence cultivator's world, it would have been too difficult.
Thinking of the countless great battles likely to erupt in the Creation Universe, Joe Di suddenly felt invigorated.
After reorganizing all his belongings, Joe Di stood up. It was time to go check on the woman he had saved.
...
"Thank you, senior, for saving my life." As soon as Joe Di stepped out, the woman who had been waiting outside bowed deeply.
Joe Di smiled, "So you really are Luo Xuan."
"Senior, do you know me?" Luo Xuan was startled; in her memory, she had never met Joe Di before.
"Don't worry. You should know Ye Yimo, right? My name is Joe Di, and I'm friends with Ye Yimo." Joe Di waved his hand, signaling Luo Xuan not to be too nervous.
Hearing Ye Yimo's name, Luo Xuan's eyes dimmed. "Senior Di, you must know that Yimo has already fallen in the Creation War, right?"
Joe Di laughed heartily, "Do you think I also entered the Creation Universe through the Creation War? Actually, I've only been here a few years. Once, I went to the Yin Netherworld and saw Ye Yimo's soul had not yet dissipated. I managed to save her, and now she's well—she should be in the Sacred Dao Realm with her friends."
Upon hearing that Yimo was safe, Luo Xuan was overjoyed and bowed again. "Senior Di, thank you, thank you for saving Yimo."
Joe Di said, "Luo Xuan, I'm friends with Yimo, so let's address each other as equals. I have many questions to ask you later."
As they spoke, Qin Moten also arrived on the deck. The questions Joe Di wanted to ask were surely related to Sacred Dao City, and since Qin Moten was planning to go there with Joe Di, he needed to know these things as well.
"Senior, aren't you..." Seeing Qin Moten, Luo Xuan grew worried again. Qin Moten was no ordinary person; his strength could rival Brother Ye.
Qin Moten gave a bitter smile, "Fellow Daoist Luo Xuan, what you saw was my evil corpse. I myself was harmed by my own evil corpse. Others walk the Dao of severing corpses, but I, Qin Moten, have only brought disgrace upon myself."
Luo Xuan suddenly understood—she had heard of the Dao of Severing Three Corpses.
"Luo Xuan, we're planning to go to Sacred Dao City. Can you tell me about it?" Joe Di knew Qin Moten didn't want to discuss the matter further, so he changed the topic.
Luo Xuan sighed, "All the top experts of the Creation Universe are gathered in Sacred Dao City. The city lord is said to be Zhan Yiji, whose strength is unparalleled. Even Brother Ye and Brother Ning are no match for him. But he never shows himself, and even the vice city lords rarely appear. The one who truly kills without mercy and commits countless atrocities is Lie You. He is the honorary city lord of Sacred Dao City and also the Dao Lord of the Extreme Cloud Universe..."
Qin Moten, standing nearby, sighed, "I've never heard of those two. They must have come before my time."
"Brother Di, I was gravely wounded by Zhu Sui Buling and chased all the way here. Zhu Sui Buling is incredibly powerful; although she hasn't reached the Creation Realm, none of the Convergence cultivators from our Five Elements Universe are her match. She's not only an outer city steward of Sacred Dao City, but also has a close relationship with Lie You." As Luo Xuan recalled Zhu Sui Buling's cruelty, her voice unconsciously dropped.
Qin Moten laughed, "No need to worry, Luo Xuan. Not long ago, Zhu Sui Buling chased after you, but before you woke up, Brother Joe Di took care of her himself."
"Brother Di, you killed Zhu Sui Buling?" Luo Xuan looked at Joe Di in shock. In her eyes, only five or six people from the Five Elements Universe could defeat Zhu Sui Buling. Aside from Brother Ye, Brother Ning, and Senior Zi Xiao, even those capable wouldn't act against her.
Joe Di nodded. "Yes, I killed Zhu Sui Buling. I didn't expect her to have an honorary city lord as her lover; looks like things could get complicated. Luo Xuan, what's the situation with Sacred Dao City's outer city? Can cultivators from the Five Elements Universe stay there?"
Luo Xuan admired Joe Di even more in her heart. To be able to kill Zhu Sui Buling was no ordinary feat.
"Brother Di, Sacred Dao City is divided into the outer city and the inner city. The inner city is where the top cultivators live—the Dao Lords of various universes and their associates. The outer city is for those without a foundation, including us Five Elements Universe cultivators."
At this point, Luo Xuan sighed. "There are very few Five Elements Universe cultivators left in Sacred Dao City; most have been killed. Zhu Sui Buling never let a single Five Elements Universe cultivator go, and even the Star Dao Lord fell by her hand."
"Can people really kill at will in Sacred Dao City?" Joe Di asked in surprise.
Luo Xuan explained, "In the inner city of Sacred Dao City, no one dares to kill recklessly. In the outer city, while it's forbidden in theory, in reality, as long as you break the rules first, the stewards can kill you. Zhu Sui Buling was one such steward, always finding excuses to kill Five Elements Universe cultivators in the outer city."
"Then why not just avoid Sacred Dao City?" Joe Di frowned.
Luo Xuan shook her head. "That's not an option."