In a matter of moments, the black mist surrounding Joe Di faded away. As he furiously circulated his Path of Laws technique, the area free of darkness expanded ever larger.
At this moment, the space where Joe Di stood seemed as if a massive, light-filled cavern had been carved out of the boundless darkness.
This cavern of light was starkly out of place amid the surrounding pitch black, and the sense of discord only continued to grow.
Just as Joe Di prepared to keep refining away the darkness in his own way, the space he had already purified suddenly erupted, as if a grenade had been tossed into it. Instantly, the darkness he had driven out surged back, thickening and intensifying until its oppressive presence made Joe Di deeply uncomfortable.
Countless invisible needles tried to pierce Joe Di from the darkness. He suspected that if his body were not beyond the Sacred Realm, these abrupt, unseen stabs would have shredded him to pieces.
Joe Di was secretly alarmed, and realized that relying solely on his own power to refine the rules of darkness would never be enough to cleanse the darkness from this vast region.
He opened his Eye of the Way, and in the darkness, countless twisted shadows seemed to writhe. Joe Di knew this was a divine art being prepared by Lord Nightshade. Through the Eye of the Way, he could faintly see the flow of dark laws. Lord Nightshade was aware of his intrusion and intent to purify the rules of this dark realm, and was brewing his own arts, scheming against him at every turn.
Joe Di stopped refining the dark laws. Without eliminating Lord Nightshade, continuing to purify these rules was a wasted effort. He stepped into the darkness, summoned the Creation Brush, and wrote a giant character for 'Realm' in the void.
A single word shatters ten thousand Daos—when the Realm manifests, it cuts through yin and yang!
It was as if a colossal mountain spanning millions of miles crashed down from beyond the realm, smashing into the endless black laws. As it descended, the mountain transformed into a vast new domain. This immense realm crushed the black laws beneath it, and the void resounded with thunderous roars.
Even the rules of darkness, under the crushing force of this domain, began to crack and splinter. The once complete dark rules fractured, and chaos spread through the darkness.
"Creation Brush!" a startled cry echoed from within the darkness. The boundless blackness surged and rolled, converging toward the massive 'Realm' character Joe Di had inscribed in the void.
Even Joe Di could sense an intense excitement and joy emanating from the darkness. This surge of emotion caused the dark rules to fluctuate violently. Joe Di was no fool; he immediately understood the cause—Lord Nightshade had seen the Creation Brush and was thrilled. The Creation Brush was indispensable to both Joe Di and Shang Hui Jue, and to Lord Nightshade, it was a peerless treasure.
No matter how much the darkness rolled and pressed against the massive 'Realm' character, the domain manifested by the character crushed it completely, devouring the endless surging blackness.
For a moment, the void churned with rolling blackness, yet the colossal 'Realm' character continued to suppress this turbulent aura.
At first, Joe Di was unconcerned. In his view, even if the 'Realm' character was torn apart by the surging dark rules, he could always write another with the Creation Brush. After all, the 'Realm' character was but one incantation of his Genesis Opening Incantation, nothing to worry about.
The rolling dark rules seemed endless, sweeping in from all directions, relentlessly crashing against the 'Realm' character. Joe Di was forced to continuously channel his divine essence and will to strengthen the character, ensuring it could suppress the surging dark laws.
After half a day, Joe Di's expression changed. The rolling dark rules truly seemed infinite, and no matter how vast his divine sense and essence, he could not keep resisting forever. Once he could no longer sustain his power, the 'Realm' character would surely collapse.
In truth, the collapse of the 'Realm' character did not concern Joe Di. The real issue was that he could not regain control. He was unable to withdraw his divine sense and essence from the character to write a new one with the Creation Brush.
Joe Di understood clearly—he had fallen into Lord Nightshade's scheme. As he refined the rules of darkness, the dark laws were silently working against him.
Now, his use of the Creation Brush to inscribe the 'Realm' character had played directly into the dark laws' trap. In truth, if he had used the Starblade instead of the Genesis Opening Incantation, he would still have been targeted by the dark laws, but not so helplessly.
If he forcibly severed his control over the 'Realm' character now, the Genesis Opening Incantation would collapse. Joe Di valued this divine art greatly—even exchanged the Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram to reclaim the Creation Brush—so how could he let the incantation be destroyed?
At this moment, he frantically poured his divine sense and essence into strengthening the 'Realm' character, maintaining constant suppression of the endless, rolling dark laws.
Both Joe Di and Lord Nightshade understood: whoever faltered first would collapse.
...
All the cultivators of the Taiji Realm knew that a mighty figure named Joe Di had arrived. Not only was he planning to establish the Starblade Sect, but he also intended for the Taiji Realm to have its own Grand Court. Yet what truly gripped every heart was the fact that Sect Master Joe had entered the black mist.
If Joe Di were like those previous experts, entering the black mist merely to investigate its origins, no one would care much.
But before entering, Joe Di established a defensive formation at the edge of the black mist. To this day, the endless black mist has not breached his defenses or invaded the untouched areas of the Taiji Realm.
Because of this, the cultivators of the Taiji Realm placed great faith in Joe Di. With the support of Temple Master Ren Jisha of Moonpiercer Temple and Valley Master Su Qianqian of Winterglade Valley, Joe Di’s prestige soared, even among those who had never met him.
But as time passed, worry for Sect Master Joe only grew.
The defensive formation had not been breached by the black mist, but the endless darkness battered its edges, rolling higher and higher. At first, it surged only a few feet, then a yard, and now it climbed dozens of yards, even reaching several stories high.
Even though the black mist still hadn't broken through Joe Di's defenses, the cultivators' confidence in him began to waver. With such terrifying force, it seemed only a matter of time before the darkness would break through.
Some cultivators even heard the defensive formation creak and groan, making many feel that Joe Di’s barrier might not last much longer.
Those who once believed the Taiji Realm could be saved began to hesitate, and some who had returned upon hearing the news now chose to leave again.
There were also some passionate cultivators who tried to enter the black mist to aid Joe Di, but none returned—clearly, they had perished within the darkness.
...
Deep within the black mist, Joe Di’s face was as pale as paper. No matter how abundant his divine sense and essence, he could no longer endure.
Joe Di was puzzled—how could Lord Nightshade’s Dao be so boundless? It seemed his opponent still held back. If this continued, Joe Di’s spirit and energy would be utterly stripped away, leaving not even a trace of blood behind.
He could not go on like this. For the first time, Joe Di resolved to abandon the Genesis Opening Incantation. Even knowing that once he let go of the 'Realm' character, he would lose it forever—and perhaps the incantation itself—he had no choice.