Joe Di had no intention of holding back. Upon arriving, he tore apart every protective array in the First Sovereign Domain of Brightrealm.
A vast plaza of the First Sovereign Domain appeared before Joe Di. What caught his attention was not the plaza itself, but a massive crucifix at its center. Nailed to the crucifix was a woman, her head drooping as she hung there.
Beneath the woman’s feet lay a Soulburn Array, where invisible soul flames ceaselessly scorched her soul spirit.
Joe Di did not recognize this woman—she was neither Faye Dee nor Debbie Di. Without the slightest hesitation, he reached out to seize the crucifix.
“If you dare touch that crucifix today, I promise you’ll regret ever coming to this world…” a sinister voice echoed.
Within Joe Di’s divine sense, a tall male cultivator with long hair appeared. Not only did he speak with a chilling tone, but his entire aura radiated hostility. Following him were eight powerful cultivators of the Third Step.
Crack! The crucifix was reduced to dust by Joe Di, and the woman nailed to it was instantly rescued, collapsing beside him. As for the threatening voice, Joe Di treated it as nothing but air.
Who knew how many years she had been burned by soul flames—now she was as light as a sheet of paper. Joe Di silently cursed this wretched place’s cruelty. The harshest punishment he’d ever used was tossing a cultivator into flames to burn them to death.
This kind of soul burning was far more than mere punishment—it was a constant, living torment, a torture that ripped and shredded the soul spirit.
Seeing Joe Di truly tear apart the crucifix and rescue the woman, the long-haired cultivator was momentarily stunned, unable to react.
Joe Di took out a Dao Pill and placed it in the woman’s mouth. Within a few breaths, she opened her eyes. Upon seeing the long-haired man and several Third Step cultivators opposite her, she was startled and quickly stood up, instinctively retreating several steps.
“No need to be nervous. I was the one who saved you just now,” Joe Di said calmly, his tone relaxed and unconcerned.
“Thank you, Senior,” the woman replied, then stood quietly behind Joe Di, saying no more. She knew this was not her time to speak.
The long-haired man still did not act, but instead glared at Joe Di and said coldly, “Is this your first time here, Daoist? My First Sovereign Domain has nothing to do with you. Yet you broke our protective arrays, shattered the artifact that imprisoned the criminal—are you here to challenge the entire Light-Dark Universe?”
It wasn’t that he was humiliating himself by not disciplining Joe Di, but rather that Joe Di’s strength far exceeded his expectations. That crucifix was a Supreme Artifact, and the array that bound the prisoner was a top-tier divine formation, not something a single person could set up—it had taken more than a dozen top Array Emperors a year to construct.
Such a terrifying formation array was broken by Joe Di with just a wave of his hand—how powerful was he? Faced with such a formidable cultivator, the man naturally dared not make a move.
And that wasn’t all—the Dao Pill Joe Di used was even more astonishing. The woman had been burned by soul flames to such a state, yet a single Dao Pill restored her with no visible damage. How heaven-defying was this pill? To casually use such a miraculous Dao Pill to save someone showed just how extraordinary this intruding cultivator must be.
Joe Di said coolly, “I’ve already destroyed your worthless crucifix and saved the woman. Now I’d like to see how you, ‘Holy One,’ will make me regret coming to this world.”
It’s said one shouldn’t expose another’s shortcomings, especially not in conversation. Yet Joe Di seemed unaware of this principle, and insisted on doing just that.
After Joe Di spoke this way, the long-haired man found it impossible to restrain himself any longer. As the top figure in Brightrealm, how could he tolerate such humiliation?
Before he could step forward, a middle-aged man beside him pulled him back and, smiling, cupped his fists to Joe Di. “Jules Jyn of Brightrealm greets you, Daoist. May I ask your name?”
“What’s the name of that coward next to you?” Joe Di acted as if he hadn’t heard Jules Jyn, his gaze fixed on the long-haired man.
The long-haired man regained his composure. “Zen Leif of Brightrealm. If you intend to oppose Brightrealm, know that we have never feared any challenge.”
Joe Di sneered, “You act so tough, but how did someone shatter your physical body once?” His tone suddenly turned cold. “I’ve heard that two women from the Five Elements Universe mistakenly entered here and were imprisoned. Is that true?”
As he spoke, Joe Di’s murderous gaze fell on Jules Jyn. According to Di Xinren, it was the Jules Family who took the Fivefold Dao Tower.
Zen Leif trembled inwardly at Joe Di’s words. If the man could see at a glance that his physical body had once been destroyed, just how terrifying was he?
Jules Jyn sensed trouble and quickly said, “Daoist, this must be a misunderstanding…”
“Misunderstanding? Jules Jyn, you scum! If my grandfather hadn’t saved you back then, Ning would have blasted you to pieces with a single shot. And how did you repay my Tang family? You killed my grandfather, slaughtered over a thousand of my kin, wiped out my family to the roots—you beast!” The woman Joe Di rescued suddenly trembled all over, pointing at Jules Jyn and shouting in fury.
Jules Jyn suddenly roared, “Everyone, attack together! This man is only strong in array arts—no matter how formidable, he’s just one person. Zen Leif and I have both reached the Creation Realm. Why should we fear him?”
With that, he was the first to unleash his artifact and charge at Joe Di. At the same time, Zen Leif summoned a thin axe. Of the seven who followed them, two hesitated, but the remaining five also released their artifacts and attacked Joe Di.
Joe Di couldn’t even be bothered to draw his Azure Veil Blade. He simply stood in place and slapped his palm down.
The seven attackers immediately sensed that the spatial laws were now beyond their comprehension. In that instant, all their techniques and artifacts lost their power.
Forget attacking Joe Di—at this moment, even maintaining their footing in the void became a struggle.
“Senior, we’re just—” Someone sensed things were going terribly wrong. This was not a matter of winning or losing; they simply weren’t on the same level.
The speaker didn’t even finish his sentence—boom! Five bursts of blood exploded in the void, and two figures tumbled down.
Seven charged at Joe Di; before even a single exchange, five had been reduced to bloody pulp and vanished, leaving Jules Jyn and Zen Leif fallen to the ground.
Everyone understood—it wasn’t that Joe Di couldn’t kill Jules Jyn and Zen Leif, but that he had deliberately spared them.
But that wasn’t the end. As the five bursts of blood erupted, Joe Di opened five worlds, sweeping away everything within them.
Truthfully, Joe Di had no interest in the worlds of these Third Step cultivators. What worried him was that Debbie Di might be locked away inside one of them. Earlier, his divine sense had swept across the entire First Sovereign Domain, but he hadn’t found any sign of Debbie Di or Faye Dee.
“Now, are you ready to talk?” Joe Di stared coldly at Jules Jyn, casually producing a small seal. “The Fivefold Seal you’re after is in my hands.”