"There are Liora Starfruits here?" Joe Di asked in return.
The cultivator hurriedly replied, "Of course there are. Just last month, someone obtained one. The armor I sell here is specifically designed to resist the corrosion of the Liora Cavern, and it can even protect against some of the poisonous mist inside. Naturally, if you need antidote pills, I have those as well. Each piece of armor is only three thousand Immortal Crystals..."
Hearing this, Joe Di felt something was off. He handed over three thousand Immortal Crystals to the cultivator and said, "I'll buy one piece of armor. May I ask, how can one obtain a Liora Starfruit?"
Seeing Joe Di produce the Immortal Crystals, the cultivator quickly handed him a low-quality piece of armor, plastering a smile on his face as he said, "Fellow Daoist, as long as you wear the armor and enter the Liora Cavern, you'll have a chance to obtain a Liora Starfruit..."
Half a stick of incense later, Joe Di finally understood what was going on.
The Liora Starfruit was indeed found on this island, but it wasn't simply a matter of entering the island to obtain it. One had to enter the Liora Cavern.
The Liora Cavern was plagued year-round by violent, swirling winds. Typically, only body-refining cultivators could enter; those with weaker physiques, even if they had reached the Immortal Emperor stage, could not last long—unless they protected themselves with divine abilities or magical treasures.
If it were only the violent winds, that would be manageable. But besides the winds, the cavern was filled with a terrifying corrosive mist, capable of eating through any armor. Worse still, if a cultivator inhaled this mist, their body would collapse and their soul would dissipate.
Yet even so, there were still those who risked their lives to enter the cavern in search of Liora Starfruits.
Because the Liora Starfruit was impervious to corrosion and protected by natural seals, the violent winds would often sweep some of the fruits out of the cavern. These fruits would then be snatched by cultivators daring enough to venture inside, who would quickly retreat afterward.
Even with natural seals protecting them, many of the Liora Starfruits swept out by the raging winds were shattered. Only a few, caught in the wind vortex, could be carried out intact.
After figuring out the reason, Joe Di glanced at the armor in his hand and shook his head speechlessly. He could easily refine something far superior to this, and wearing such low-grade armor into that cavern was nothing short of suicide.
[Skipped: Scene break ellipsis]
Joe Di arrived at the entrance to the Liora Cavern, where at least several hundred people had gathered. As soon as he approached, vendors came forward to offer various antidote pills, armor, and all kinds of survival jade slips for the Liora Cavern.
Not far from the crowd was the mouth of the Liora Cavern. The entrance appeared only a few meters wide, with crosswinds howling inside. What puzzled Joe Di was that the winds formed a swirling vortex at the entrance, never rushing outward. The moment his spiritual sense tried to penetrate the cavern, it was instantly shredded by the winds within.
Joe Di marveled at the danger in his heart. Even with his refined eighth-grade immortal sense, he couldn't last long inside the Liora Cavern. Entering to search for Liora Starfruits was truly risking one's life. The poisonous mist alone was terrifying, not to mention the swirling winds that could easily prevent weaker cultivators from ever escaping.
"Fellow Daoist, why have I waited here for an hour or two and still no one has entered?" After observing for a long time, Joe Di couldn't help but ask a nearby cultivator.
The cultivator chuckled, "Going in now is certain death. You have to wait until the waters of the Lunar Celestial Sea flow past that stone. Only then can you enter. At that time, the poison is weakest and the winds are at their calmest."
Joe Di looked in the direction the cultivator pointed. There lay a large, half-meter-wide green stone, its surface mottled with blue and white from prolonged erosion by the waters of the Lunar Celestial Sea.
The stone was still several zhang away from the Lunar Celestial Sea, exposed on the sand and gravel beach.
"Is there a pattern to it?" Joe Di asked again.
"No..." The cultivator had just finished speaking when the waters of the Lunar Celestial Sea surged forward. Joe Di watched as the blue-white stone was engulfed.
Immediately, Joe Di saw more than a dozen cultivators rush madly into the Liora Cavern. He did not join them, instead choosing to observe from the side.
Within just half a stick of incense, five or six people rushed back out. Each of them had a darkened complexion, and upon emerging, they immediately sat cross-legged to expel the poison. It was unclear if any had actually obtained a Liora Starfruit.
By now, the water that had submerged the stone had long since receded, but Joe Di saw no more people emerge. Of the twelve who entered, only six came out—at least half had not returned.
Joe Di swept his spiritual sense over the six who had emerged, sighing inwardly. The path of immortality was truly arduous.
All six were late-stage Da Luo Immortals, and judging from the fluctuations in their aura, they were clearly at the end of their lifespans. It was evident they had entered the cavern for one last chance at advancement. Even knowing the odds were against them, they still chose to risk everything.
Joe Di did not find them laughable, for he too was about to take the same gamble.
He possessed the Ninth Prime Law, and in theory, advancing to Immortal King might not require a Liora Starfruit. But who could say for sure? After all, the leap from Da Luo Immortal to Immortal King was a true transformation, far more significant than any previous breakthrough. He was unwilling to risk failure halfway through his attempt.
Joe Di waited three days. The moment the green stone was once again submerged by the waters of the Lunar Celestial Sea, he joined several cultivators in charging into the Liora Cavern without hesitation.
As soon as he entered the Liora Cavern, violent winds swept over him, tearing his clothes apart in an instant. Joe Di wore no armor, knowing that even the best armor would be inferior to his late-stage Divine Physique.
"Puff! Puff!" Blades of wind struck Joe Di in rapid succession, carving bloody grooves into his flesh.
A sharp, tearing pain followed, and Joe Di immediately realized it was not the wind that hurt, but the corrosive poison mist eating away at his body.
[Skipped: Irrelevant meta line]
This was a deadly poison, but Joe Di did not take any antidote pills. Although he had seventh-grade detoxification elixirs, the best way for him to counteract poison was through his understanding of the laws.
All poisons were a type of law. In just a single breath, Joe Di grasped the aura of heaven and earth's laws within the corrosive poison.
Compared to before, when he had to operate his Starry Sky Art, it was now much simpler. With just a single circulation of his law cycle, the poison faded into nothingness, transforming into pure cultivation energy.
Joe Di kept extending his spiritual sense. At first, the winds obliterated it instantly, but as he continued to temper his mind, after half a stick of incense, his spiritual sense could already stretch out to a range of ten feet.
By now, there was no one else around. Joe Di figured the other cultivators who entered with him had either been torn apart by the winds or had already retreated.
Outside the Liora Cavern, everything soon returned to normal. For a newcomer like Joe Di, vanishing within the cavern drew no attention.
A mass appeared within Joe Di's spiritual sense. With a flick of his hand, he swept it into his palm.
It was indeed a Liora Starfruit, but the moment it landed in Joe Di's hand, it crumbled to dust.
The deeper he went into the Liora Cavern, the more expansive it became. Joe Di traveled for over an hour before his feet finally struck solid rock.
To Joe Di's shock, he did indeed see a Liora Starfruit Tree—but only one. Judging by its appearance, it must have been at least a hundred thousand years old. Its branches stretched out for dozens of meters.
The tree bore at least a thousand ripe Liora Starfruits. The value of these fruits, not to mention the ancient tree itself, was no less than top-tier celestial herbs.
This Liora Starfruit Tree was enveloped by natural seals, and every single fruit on its branches was protected by one.
All around the Liora Starfruit Tree were steep reefs. For a tree to grow in such a place was truly remarkable.
Beside the tree's natural seals, wild winds swept through in waves. No one knew where these winds originated. Occasionally, they would tear off a branch and carry away a Liora Starfruit still wrapped in its seal.
Additionally, some ripe Liora Starfruits would fall off and get swept into the depths of the Liora Cavern by the winds.
Joe Di was not the least bit polite. Without hesitation, he shattered the seals and threw out hundreds of Array Banners.
In less than half a stick of incense, he had sent the entire Liora Starfruit Tree, along with its fruits, into his True Spirit World.
As Joe Di took the Liora Starfruit Tree, he sensed a familiar aura. He immediately understood why a tree could grow here, and why every fruit was protected by a seal—there was Genesis Loam in this place.
Unfortunately, the Genesis Loam had long since been depleted, either scattered by the winds or merged into the Lunar Celestial Sea. Joe Di felt helpless; encountering Genesis Loam even once was a tremendous fortune. He had come across it twice, yet both times he failed to obtain it.
With the Starfruit Tree gone, the winds and corrosive mist remained. The poisonous mist likely came from the Lunar Celestial Sea, but Joe Di was certain the winds did not. They seemed to originate from the edge of the natural seals, perhaps from the cracks in the reefs above his head.
Joe Di walked to the edge of the natural seals where the winds originated, cautiously extending his spiritual sense.
Boom! A dizzying sensation as if the world were collapsing struck Joe Di. He spat out a mouthful of blood; not only was his spiritual sense wiped out, but even his sea of consciousness was battered by the force of this collapse.
Joe Di suspected that if his sea of consciousness were any weaker, this force alone would have shattered it. The sensation made him wonder if his spiritual sense had pierced through to another plane, entering a different realm altogether.
Regardless of how the winds and mist were created, Joe Di no longer wished to investigate further.
[Skipped: Irrelevant meta line]