Jay Gao took a deep breath and was about to speak when he suddenly sensed the aura of death. With his lifespan nearly exhausted, he was extremely sensitive to death; even though this aura flashed by in less than half a breath, he still felt it.
This trace of death was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, jolting him awake in an instant.
If seeking out a cultivator from a single sect would get him silenced, then what about seeking out the strongest from all five major sects to reveal the news about the World Tome—would that not get him killed as well?
A wave of sorrow surged in his heart. Had he been blinded by greed? To come, as a decrepit Golden Core cultivator, seeking benefits from the top Soul Ancestor stage experts of major sects—was this not courting death? Why would he do something so idiotic?
If he could have calmed down and thought it through, would he still have acted this way? The answer was definitely no.
But at the time, he simply couldn’t calm himself. The Golden Core stage grants five hundred years of life; he was now almost four hundred and ninety years old. He was too anxious, too desperate for a breakthrough, and that’s why he did something so foolish.
“Don’t worry. Take your time. You’ve made a great contribution here. No matter the outcome, I’ll see to it that you step into the Soul Ancestor stage—and gain another three hundred years of life.”
The Soul Ancestor stage grants eight hundred years of life, and adding five cycles means Jay Gao would live another three hundred years.
Had he not sensed that fleeting aura of death, Jay Gao might have once again been swept up in excitement and forgotten everything. But now, he knew that whether he spoke or not, he was doomed.
In other words, the moment he tried to use news of the World Tome to gain cultivation benefits, he already had one foot in the grave.
He understood that trace of death—it meant someone here wanted to kill him, which was why he sensed it. If he were the sect master of one of the Five Major Sects, he too would never allow an ant who knew the whereabouts of the World Tome to live.
With a sigh, Jay Gao calmly said, "This is a long story. The reason I know about the World Tome..."
Just as the five sect masters were drawn into Jay Gao’s tale, Jay Gao unleashed his true essence. The Golden Core cultivator in his grasp instantly lost all vitality, his sea of consciousness shattered.
At the same moment, Jay Gao severed his own life force, his remaining divine sense directly smashing his own sea of consciousness. Since they wanted him dead, he would let these sect masters rack their brains over the whereabouts of the World Tome.
When Jay Gao paused in his story, the sect masters all reacted. Yian Xueyi, Sect Master of the Violet Thunder Sect, was the first to rush to Jay Gao’s side. Before he could grab Jay Gao, his true essence had already bound him completely.
Yian Xueyi knew in his heart that he was a step too late—Jay Gao had committed suicide in that fleeting moment.
"What happened?" The other Soul Ancestor experts all looked grim, their divine senses locked onto Jay Gao.
"He self-destructed, and before dying, killed the Golden Core cultivator he brought along..." Yian Xueyi’s face was dark. He was certain Jay Gao’s suicide wasn’t sudden—someone here must have made him realize he was doomed. Only Jay Gao could have sensed that instant killing intent directed at him.
But these were the five sect masters, each a Soul Ancestor expert, and none were far apart in strength. Even Yian Xueyi couldn’t directly demand to know who had triggered Jay Gao’s suicide with such a reckless act.
Shu Haolan, Sect Master of the Kun Sect, looked even gloomier than the others. He was deeply frustrated, knowing exactly why Jay Gao had chosen suicide: the moment Jay Gao mentioned the World Tome, Shu Haolan had already considered silencing him.
But that thought had only flashed through his mind. Normally, an ordinary cultivator would never have sensed it. What he hadn’t expected was that Jay Gao, already decrepit and with only a few years left, would be so sensitive to the aura of death.
Of course, he would never admit to this. If he did, even if the other sect masters didn’t come after him, he’d lose standing for no reason at all.
"There’s still time to search his sea of consciousness," Ao Huang, Palace Master of the Sea King Palace, said urgently.
Yian Xueyi shook his head. "It’s too late. This man was experienced—he shattered his own sea of consciousness while killing and committing suicide. In any case, there’s real news about the World Tome. Unfortunately, we have no clues left. The only thing we can be sure of is that the World Tome truly is in the Central Realm."
"Investigate Jay Gao first, and especially the Golden Core cultivator he brought and killed. If I’m not mistaken, the true whereabouts of the World Tome weren’t known to Jay Gao, but to that Golden Core cultivator he brought." Xiao Wu, Sect Master of the Void Sword Sect, spoke coldly.
If there really was news of the World Tome, they might have a chance to leave the Central Realm and ascend to higher levels. Now, with that clue suddenly gone, no one could feel at ease.
......
Joe Di had no idea that the man who might have exposed his presence near the World Tome was dead, since that man could never have withstood questioning. As soon as he left Fivefold City, Joe Di hurriedly fled without stopping.
Five days later, when both his divine sense and true essence were utterly depleted, Joe Di finally stopped. He had no idea how far he had traveled in those five days, but by his estimation, he was now very far from Fivefold City.
After digging out a cave residence in a secluded valley, the first thing Joe Di did was refine artifacts.
He had a mountain of materials—all of them acquired from the Qi Family Trading House. Now, he had to improve his artifact refining skills and craft a high-quality disguise artifact.
Joe Di burned through piles of materials. With the Dao Fire of Starlight, his refining skills advanced rapidly. After two months, he was promoted to a fourth-grade Artifact Master, able to craft low-grade spirit artifacts.
Although Joe Di wanted to raise his refining skills another level, he had run out of materials. The Qi Family Trading House had very few materials above grade five.
Learning artifact refining was expensive. He had used up so many grade-four materials from the Qi Family Trading House just to reach fourth-grade Artifact Master. To reach fifth-grade, he would need just as many grade-five materials.
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From the batch of low-grade spirit artifacts he refined, Joe Di chose a particularly good disguise artifact and transformed himself into a carefree young man with a bit of stubble at the corner of his mouth. Then, he crafted a sheath for his Tiansuo blade.
His Tiansuo blade needed to absorb the Dao rhythm of heaven and earth to advance; otherwise, Joe Di would have already stored it in his ring.
Even after all that, Joe Di still wasn’t at ease. Even while traveling, he constantly tempered his divine sense. Only by strengthening it could his divine sense escape technique grow more powerful. To avoid drawing attention, Joe Di practiced until he could suppress his cultivation aura to the early Soul Ancestor stage.
......
Sunset City.
By the time Joe Di arrived, it had been two and a half months since he left Fivefold City.
Compared to the large cultivation cities like Tiantu City and Fivefold City, Sunset City looked rather rundown. Confirming there was no wanted notice for him, Joe Di relaxed a little and paid two mid-grade spirit stones to enter the city.
Inside Sunset City, Joe Di saw rugged, dilapidated streets. The shops lining both sides were equally rundown.
After crossing two streets, Joe Di finally spotted a unique building. Compared to the surrounding ruins, this structure stood tall and grand, like a crane among chickens.
The sign at the entrance read: "Heavenly Secrets Pavilion Mission Guild, Sunset Branch."
Inside, Joe Di found that there were even more people than out on the streets. It seemed most cultivators who came to Sunset City did so for the guild.
As soon as he entered, Joe Di overheard a group of cultivators chatting. He stopped, pretending to examine the large mission board, but kept his attention on their conversation.
"You didn’t hear? I just got word—among the Five Young Lords, Lord Gun has reached the seventy-second floor. The second place isn’t Lord Yan from the Void Sword Sect, but Lord Mu from the Violet Thunder Sect. Still, he’s several floors behind—only at the sixty-ninth."
"This is just the beginning. Many who were first on the Fivefold Dao Tower earlier may not end up first in the end. Besides, Gun Yantao from the Sea King Palace is already over two hundred years old, while Yan Tashan from the Void Sword Sect is said to be much younger. In terms of potential, Yan Tashan surpasses Gun Yantao and is the strongest among the Five Young Lords."
"Heh, below the Cauldron stage, is there really a difference before five hundred years old?"
"Too bad. If it weren’t for that mission at Lake Baiye, I would’ve gone to Fivefold Dao Venue myself."
"No worries. Once we’re done here, we can still make it."
......
Joe Di listened for a long time. All the talk was about climbing the Fivefold Dao Tower—no one mentioned the World Tome or any wanted notices. He hadn’t seen any wanted posters at the city gate either. Could things be different from what he’d imagined?
According to Joe Di’s thinking, if word got out that he had been near the World Tome, there were two possibilities. One was to issue a wanted notice for him, using any excuse. The other was to openly link him to the World Tome and still issue a wanted notice. The second possibility seemed to expose the World Tome, but in reality, it would force him out into the open.
As long as someone was a top expert or had enough influence, even if the World Tome was said to be in his possession, no one would dare go after it alone.
Still, being called 'Young Lord' at several hundred years old left Joe Di speechless.
"Friend, are you also planning to go to Lake Baiye to gather Blazing God Grass?" a loud voice called out to Joe Di.
Only then did Joe Di notice that the large screen he’d been staring at was advertising a team headed to Lake Baiye. Those interested were to meet in private room seven on the second floor.
"Blazing God Grass? What’s it used for?" Joe Di was well-versed in rare items—even if he hadn’t read the entire World Tome, he knew most things. But this was the first time he’d heard of Blazing God Grass.
The one who spoke to Joe Di was a weathered-looking middle-aged man, apparently at the third level of the Soul Ancestor stage. Hearing Joe Di’s question, he realized Joe Di didn’t even know what Blazing God Grass was and immediately explained, "Fellow Daoist, you must have just arrived in Sunset City from somewhere far away, right?"
Joe Di immediately grew wary. What did that mean? He sent out his divine sense, ready to flee at any moment, and replied slowly, "That’s right. Please enlighten me."