An hour later, Joe Di located the ley line. But when he saw the grand array protecting it, he was stunned.
From Joe Di’s perspective, the array protecting the sect’s ley line was even stronger than the sect’s external guardian array, surpassing even the ninth rank.
Even if he brought his former companions to attack this ley line array, it might take a month or two to break through.
Would he really gather a thousand or two people to attack this place for months, only to get a tiny share? Joe Di had no interest in such a pointless endeavor.
Besides, Joe Di felt a sense of affinity for the Skyblade Sect, drawn by its unwavering blade intent.
After sending a message to Sprout, Joe Di decided to leave for now and study the Soul Tempering Technique.
Sprout arrived quickly, his lively demeanor showing that he’d gained quite a lot.
"Big Brother, there’s so much stuff inside! I found a herb garden packed with spiritual herbs—I dug up at least a thousand! Too bad the highest grade was only level five..."
"Let’s go," Joe Di interrupted Sprout. He’d expected there wouldn’t be any high-grade spiritual herbs. Unless they grew naturally, the sect’s herb garden needed a skilled cultivator to nurture them—any mishap would cause high-grade herbs to wither.
More importantly, high-grade spiritual herbs could only survive in a world with complete laws. That was something Joe Di had learned from the World Tome. The rules here were broken—how could high-grade herbs possibly thrive?
"Ah..." Sprout exclaimed. "Big Brother, but there are still good things inside..."
"Let’s go." Joe Di summoned a skyship. Others might not dare to fly here, but Joe Di didn’t care. Besides, he’d already been to his destination once before and knew it wasn’t very dangerous.
Seeing Joe Di summon the skyship, Sprout didn’t dare linger any longer and quickly jumped aboard.
Since he’d already traveled this route, Joe Di piloted the skyship much faster than before. In just one day, he arrived at the canyon again.
Melody Qin had helped him find this cave mansion, and Joe Di enjoyed cultivating here. It was quiet, with no spiritual ores or creatures, and rarely visited by other cultivators.
Joe Di didn’t know when the Skyveil would close, but he knew one thing for sure—once it did, he’d be transported to the Skyveil Plaza.
With his current strength, the Qi Family was no threat. What worried him was the ninth-rank Grand Arraymaster who had placed a spirit mark on the Mindshift Stone.
He hadn’t obtained the body refinement jade slip, and that flame was out of reach. Fortunately, he’d acquired a Soul Tempering Memory Stone, which was immensely useful to him.
After upgrading the cave mansion’s defensive array to the sixth rank, Joe Di summoned Sprout, brought out the Azure Ley Line and Azure Pearl, and began studying the damaged Soul Tempering Memory Stone.
Although the writing on the Soul Tempering Memory Stone grew more blurred toward the end, it still gave Joe Di tremendous insight. Days later, as he tempered his spirit with the technique, he was pleasantly surprised.
His Stellar Nexus was practically tailor-made for the Soul Tempering Technique. By tempering and compressing his spirit according to its method, then circulating it through the Stellar Nexus and repeating the process, Joe Di found his spiritual sense growing sharper with each cycle—and his cultivation rising as well.
...
Boom! With a thunderous roar, the mighty guardian array of Starstream School trembled violently.
All the disciples of Starstream School rushed out in panic. Before they could reach the array’s entrance, another deafening explosion echoed.
The guardian array of Starstream School shattered into nothingness, leaving the entire sect exposed, as if stripped bare.
"Ezekiel Qi from the Qi Family?" The first to rush out was Elder Leo Wood, Starstream School’s top expert.
Ezekiel Qi was even more senior than he was—the Qi Family’s foremost powerhouse. Right now, Ezekiel’s aura was immense and forceful, clearly having advanced his cultivation yet again.
Advanced his cultivation again? Elder Leo Wood’s heart sank. Ezekiel Qi had already reached Soul Ancestor, Full Completion years ago. If he’d gone further, that could only mean...
There was no need to guess—Elder Leo Wood was certain Ezekiel Qi had broken into the Void Spirit Stage. Evidently, the Qi Family hadn’t attacked Starstream School earlier not because of the sect’s actions, but because their true powerhouse hadn’t returned yet. Now, with Ezekiel Qi’s breakthrough and arrival, it was clear the Qi Family never intended to spare Starstream School. Their top expert had returned—and come to settle scores.
He cupped his fists and said, "Starstream School is already in a half-sealed state. Back when Joe Di..."
He was now stuck at the ninth layer of Gold Core, and with a Bonebrand Spirit Mark lingering on him, he needed to find a solution quickly.
Ezekiel Qi didn't even wait for Elder Leo Wood to finish speaking. He raised his fist and unleashed a violent punch, the ferocious force instantly enveloping Elder Leo Wood.
Elder Leo Wood's Soul Ancestor stage was shaky to begin with, and faced with this punch, he had almost no power to resist.
The two Gold Core cultivators of Starstream School who followed behind saw Elder Leo Wood falter under the punch and rushed forward without hesitation.
Boom! Two clouds of blood erupted as Ezekiel Qi's punch shattered the two Gold Core cultivators into fragments.
The aftershock of true essence forced Elder Leo Wood to spit a stream of blood. Acting sect master He Hui let out a mournful cry, threw out dozens of array flags, and shouted, "All disciples of Starstream School, heed my command—leave immediately!"
He Hui knew that Starstream School would be razed by Ezekiel Qi today. If the disciples dispersed now, there was still a slim chance that some seeds could be preserved.
Starstream School's trapping-killing array activated, encasing Ezekiel Qi within. Ezekiel Qi laughed heartily, "A mere trapping array dares to confine me?"
Without even using magical treasures, Ezekiel Qi unleashed another punch. The newly activated array cracked with a series of sharp sounds, on the verge of shattering.
Elder Leo Wood's eyes burned with fury; he grabbed a pill and swallowed it, then charged madly at Ezekiel Qi.
After taking the pill, Elder Leo Wood's aura surged wildly, quickly reaching the late Soul Ancestor stage.
But Elder Leo Wood's cultivation was unstable to begin with. Even after the pill drove him to the late Soul Ancestor stage, he still couldn't hold out long against Ezekiel Qi.
……
Joe Di had no idea that Starstream School was about to be destroyed. His spiritual sense had been refined to the extreme, and his cultivation had advanced from Gold Core seventh layer to ninth layer in less than four months. The only regret was that the Azure Ley Line had shrunk again.
Joe Di stopped further tempering his spirit. With the Soul Tempering Technique, his spiritual sense was being refined at every moment.
Now that he had reached the ninth layer of Gold Core, his next step was to break into the Soul Ancestor stage. With his spiritual sense so refined, he would have a slim chance of survival once he left.
After circulating the Starstream Technique, Joe Di was delighted to find that his absorption of the Azure Ley Line's energy had become even faster. This was thanks to the refinement of his spiritual sense.
Not far away, Sprout watched as ring after ring of azure spiritual energy was swept away by Joe Di, and the Azure Ley Line visibly shrank, making Sprout's eyes twitch.
Big Brother's cultivation speed is just too fast. At this rate, the Azure Ley Line won't last much longer.
This Azure Ley Line is also extremely beneficial for me. Its best use is to help break through bottlenecks. I had hoped to use it again when I reached the peak of the third rank, but now it seems that's just wishful thinking.
With Big Brother being so wasteful, this Azure Ley Line will last at most another year. But it'll be a long time before I reach the fourth rank.
If possible, I'd ask Big Brother to stop depleting this precious Azure Ley Line. It's even better than some breakthrough pills. Wouldn't it be wiser to save it for when we need to break through realms?
But I know Big Brother doesn't like taking pills, and besides, I can't refine Soul Condensation Pills.
In just over half a month, Joe Di's cultivation reached Gold Core Full Completion.
He began to focus all his efforts on breaking into the Soul Ancestor stage. Each attempt made his Stellar Nexus tremble.
But there's a fundamental difference between the Soul Ancestor and Gold Core stages—it's the realm after forming a soul embryo. Joe Di's insights at Gold Core were limited, so even with repeated attempts, he was still far from the Soul Ancestor stage. All he accomplished was making his Stellar Nexus quake again and again. As for the barrier to Soul Ancestor stage, he hadn't even touched it.
"Big Brother, should I start learning to refine Soul Condensation Pills?" Sprout called out from afar, seeing Joe Di unable to break through.
Joe Di ignored Sprout, certain that he couldn't refine the pills due to his cultivation and lack of flame. The pill refining jade slips from the Qi Family were enough for Sprout to become a third-grade pill master, which Joe Di was already satisfied with.
After a full day of attempts, Joe Di stopped trying to break through to the Soul Ancestor stage. Not having made any progress, he knew it would be a waste of time to keep trying.
He understood well that cultivation couldn't be rushed, but when it came to himself, he still found it hard to accept.
"Sprout, don't waste those high-grade spirit herbs for now. I might need them later. I need to study the World Tome for a while, so don't disturb me." Joe Di knew Sprout couldn't refine high-grade pills without flame, so using the herbs now would be a waste.