Marlon Jace shivered, hurriedly bowing as he said, "Daoist Joe, this really has nothing to do with me. I was only following orders. The Magic Garment Mountain Sanctuary was about to open, and Quentin June already knew about it. Whether I called him over or not, he would have come regardless..."
"That person's name is Quentin June? What does he want?" Joe Di's voice was cold as ice.
"Big Brother, this is it. I got three. Also, I've changed my name to Longsun Arlo, taking my mother's surname." Longsun Arlo produced three jade boxes and handed them to Joe Di.
Joe Di glanced at Marlon Jace, understanding that Longsun Arlo's words meant he had severed all ties with Marlon Jace and Star Demon Palace. He accepted the three jade boxes; each contained a pure white fruit, radiating profound Dao aura.
Is this the Abyssal Dao Fruit?
At this moment, whether it was Marlon Jace, Yue Wuliang, Rona Snow, or Master Bowie Zhou, all gazed longingly at the Abyssal Dao Fruit in Joe Di's hand. This was exactly the Dao Fruit they urgently needed.
Joe Di's gaze fell upon Marlon Jace. "Palace Master Marlon, what is the use of the Abyssal Dao Fruit?"
Marlon Jace quickly replied, "Right now, the Immortal Realm can no longer ascend to the Upper Realm. Even if you reach the peak of Immortal Emperor, you can't sense the barrier to the Upper Realm. The Abyssal Dao Fruit allows an Immortal Emperor to break through the Emperor stage and comprehend their own Dao. Only by comprehending your Dao do you have a chance to ascend. Even if you can't ascend, you can sense the domain nodes between the Immortal Realm and the Upper Realm."
From afar, Rona Snow sighed and said, "Palace Master Marlon is right. That's exactly how it is. The Four Immortal Continents need more and more Abyssal Dao Fruits, but places where they appear are fewer and fewer. The reason the Magic Garment Mountain Sanctuary draws so many powerful cultivators is that every time it opens, one or two Abyssal Dao Fruits appear. This time, three appeared, which was unexpected."
"Yes, at first I thought it was because the cosmic laws of the Four Immortal Continents were incomplete, preventing everyone from ascending. But later, we discovered that the cosmic laws of the Four Immortal Continents weren't damaged." Master Bowie Zhou also sighed deeply.
Joe Di frowned, recalling that back in the Immortal Realm, no matter what he tried, he couldn't refine a ninth-grade Immortal Pill. Only when his Dao Laws became complete could he refine a ninth-grade Immortal Pill under his own Dao. At the time, he also believed the Immortal Realm's cosmic laws were incomplete, but later realized that wasn't true.
"Marlon Jace, who is that man in black? How did he contact you?" Joe Di didn't bother with formalities anymore. If not for Longsun Arlo's sake, he would have killed Marlon Jace outright.
No matter how much Longsun Arlo and Marlon Jace have fallen out, they are, after all, father and son.
Marlon Jace shook his head. "I don't know. I only know he comes from a plane even higher than our Four Immortal Continents, and his cultivation is unimaginably strong..."
When Marlon Jace mentioned how powerful he was, he paused subconsciously. If Quentin June was so strong, then how powerful was Joe Di? He'd witnessed Joe Di kill Quentin June with his own eyes.
"How do you usually contact him?" Joe Di figured he wouldn't get much else out of Marlon Jace. His mission on Magic Garment Immortal Continent was likely different from Yi Yun and Li Lei. Joe Di had placed a rule restriction on Marlon Jace; if Marlon Jace had any designs on the Immortal Realm's fate, Joe Di would have sensed it long ago.
Marlon Jace replied even more respectfully, "His name is Quentin June. He gave me a talisman and told me that when the Magic Garment Mountain Sanctuary opened, I should crush it and he would know. That's all I know."
Worried that Joe Di would be dissatisfied with his answer, Marlon Jace added, "Quentin June's main goal is the Abyssal Dao Fruit..."
His main goal is the Abyssal Dao Fruit? Quentin June should be above the Immortal Emperor stage—what use does he have for the Abyssal Dao Fruit?
Joe Di couldn't make sense of it and decided not to dwell. His gaze landed on Yue Wuliang. He suspected each of the Four Immortal Continents had someone collecting the Immortal Realm's fate for Lord Jiang. Sifang Immortal Continent had Yi Yun Immortal Emperor, Aurora Immortal Continent likely had Ye Xi, Thundercrest Immortal Continent should have Li Lei. He'd killed all three, but as for Magic Garment Immortal Continent, if it wasn't Marlon Jace, then who was it?
Seeing Joe Di's gaze sweep over, Yue Wuliang shuddered instinctively and quickly cupped his fists, "Daoist Joe, I have nothing to do with this. Marlon Jace called that man in black; I knew nothing about it."
Joe Di ignored Yue Wuliang and simply handed a formation flag to Blackfire. "Blackfire, you and Longsun Arlo go to Star Demon Palace and rescue Longsun Arlo's mother. Then head to Great Cauldron Free Immortal City. I have some things to handle, but I'll be back at Great Cauldron Free Immortal City soon."
After speaking, Joe Di sent a voice transmission to Blackfire: "If Marlon Jace tries anything, just activate this formation flag and crush him."
"Big Brother, don't worry..." Blackfire replied, then looked eagerly at Joe Di.
The reason Blackfire encouraged Longsun Arlo to join the Magic Garment Mountain Summit was mainly to advance to a ninth-grade Immortal Demon Beast. Now that he'd seen Joe Di, he naturally hoped Joe Di would give him a ninth-grade Immortal Pill.
Joe Di understood Blackfire's intention and sent him a voice transmission: "All the cultivation resources for you and Longsun Arlo are in Longsun Arlo's ring. Inside are the pills you need to advance to ninth-grade Immortal Demon Beast. I have things to do outside, but in a while, I'll come find you at the Peace Restaurant."
Upon hearing Joe Di's words, Blackfire leapt up, grabbed Longsun Arlo, and shouted, "Let's go! We'll head to Star Demon Palace first, then return to the Peace Restaurant."
Once Blackfire and Longsun Arlo had left, Joe Di cupped his fists to Master Bowie Zhou and Rona Snow, saying, "If you two Sect Masters have time, you can come find me at Great Cauldron. I have some matters to attend to, but after a while, I'll return to the Peace Restaurant."
"Thank you, Daoist Joe. I, Master Bowie Zhou, will definitely visit Great Cauldron Free Immortal City." Master Bowie Zhou deeply admired Joe Di; it was Joe Di's words that had once elevated his sword Dao.
Among the five Immortal Emperors of Magic Garment Immortal Continent, Master Bowie Zhou was the only one confident he could step beyond the Immortal Emperor realm without the Abyssal Dao Fruit.
"Daoist Joe, I have something I'd like to discuss with you." Seeing Joe Di about to leave, Rona Snow hurriedly called out. She had decided to bring up the matter, regardless of the outcome—she wanted to help resolve things between Qing Bing and Joe Di.
Joe Di saw Rona Snow's expression and knew it wasn't anything urgent. He casually said, "I'll return to Great Cauldron Free Immortal City in a few months. Let's meet there."
He had a good impression of both Master Bowie Zhou and Rona Snow. The Abyssal Dao Fruit wasn't much use to keep, and giving it to Longsun Arlo would only harm him. So, when Master Bowie Zhou and Rona Snow arrived at Great Cauldron Free Immortal City, he would give each of them one. As for the third, it would still go to Longsun Arlo. As for advancing to a higher domain, Joe Di didn't believe he needed the Abyssal Dao Fruit.
If Brother Zhong Ao can do it, so can he.
And that Lord Jiang fellow—if he could descend from the Upper Realm to the Four Immortal Continents, could it really be impossible for someone from the Four Immortal Continents to ascend to the Upper Realm?
Joe Di hurried away, heading for Daihe Hall. Daihe Hall had a huge stockpile of cultivation resources, all of which he urgently needed. After leaving Daihe Hall, Joe Di planned to take Blackfire to pursue the man in black, Quentin June.
He was certain the man in black wouldn't live long; since he wouldn't, he'd perish in the domain. If Joe Di didn't find Quentin June, he'd feel uneasy. Having killed several people collecting the Immortal Realm's fate, he was sure Lord Jiang would be watching him. The 'Lord Jiang' Quentin June mentioned was most likely Lord Jiang. Since he would be targeted sooner or later, it was better to learn about his opponent's background early—his own life would be safer that way.
Even if the 'Lord Jiang' Quentin June spoke of wasn't Lord Jiang, learning something about the Upper Realm from Quentin June would still be worthwhile.
Besides finding the man in black, Quentin June, he also needed to uncover who was collecting the fate of Magic Garment Immortal Continent.