Ruben Redlin's long blade swept up billions of blade principles, each one infused with his own Grand Dao Principle.
Something was wrong. Before Ruben Redlin's billions of blade principles could collide with Joe Di's Blade Curtain, he sensed it—Joe Di was unleashing a Blade Curtain, but within it surged the laws of time and space.
Because Ruben Redlin had never encountered Joe Di's Grand Dao Principle, nor had he ever seen anyone cultivate such a law, he had mistakenly thought Joe Di was using a blade intent technique.
But Ruben Redlin was unconcerned. No matter how powerful the technique, it still required sufficient strength. Joe Di surely wasn’t a Fourth Step cultivator, so Ruben felt no fear. Time and space? He’d already mastered those.
In an instant, the Blade Curtain transformed into a tidal surge of blade momentum. At the same time, Ruben Redlin’s billions of blade principles came crashing down. Joe Di’s tidal wave of blade momentum, surging nearly ten thousand feet, was crushed by Ruben’s blade principles—leaving not even a ripple.
Yet Ruben Redlin’s heart sank. He saw the second, third, fourth, and even fifth waves of blade momentum surging forth, one after another.
These endless waves of blade momentum were like the unceasing waters of a mighty river, flowing on forever without end.
Within the bounds of these endless waves of blade momentum, all time and space came to a standstill. Anyone swept into this tide would find the time-space rules of this world no longer applied. These were not the time-space laws he had mastered—they were a domain he could be dragged into and vanish forever.
Joe Di was neither sad nor joyful, utterly calm. This was the first time he had unleashed his "Three Looms of Time" since his Dao reached its highest level.
The blade momentum surged forth, unleashing blade light that soared for billions of feet. Beneath the tidal wave, not a speck of dust remained.
Ruben Redlin made a split-second decision—his entire body split into two. One half braced itself against the crushing tide of blade momentum, tens of millions of feet high, while the other transformed into a streak of light. That beam of light tore free from the spacetime laws of Joe Di's sixth wave, darting away.
The moment he broke free, Ruben Redlin hurled several formation flags, scattering them across the battlefield.
Joe Di's strength was utterly terrifying. Today, not only was it impossible to capture Joe Di—even survival required Ruben Redlin to use his deepest hidden treasures.
Boom! Crack!
Like a river bursting its banks, Ruben Redlin's already dim blade principles, suddenly lacking support from his true body, exploded into endless fragments of broken law.
Under the barrage of shattered laws, Ruben Redlin was torn to pieces by the sixth wave of blade momentum.
Joe Di's heart sank—he realized Ruben Redlin had escaped. What he had just destroyed was only a substitute body, not the true Ruben.
As Joe Di's seventh wave of blade momentum rose, Ruben Redlin's deadly formation was triggered, its vast killing intent sweeping toward Joe Di like a tidal wave.
Having lost his substitute and much of his strength, Ruben Redlin had intended to use the formation to fight Joe Di head-on.
But the instant he saw Joe Di's seventh wave, Ruben Redlin knew that if he dared risk everything, he would surely die here. Joe Di's strength far exceeded his expectations—he was no match at all.
He still had hidden cards, but he sensed, with a formless dread, that Joe Di's trump cards were even stronger than his own.
So, as the formation activated, Ruben Redlin instantly used its power to seal the gap in the blade tide, transforming into a beam of light and fleeing in a flash. No matter how precious his substitute, his life was worth more.
He was certain—his formation could not stop Joe Di.
Joe Di hesitated for a moment as he watched Ruben Redlin flee, but in the end, he chose not to pursue.
If he truly wished to keep Ruben Redlin from escaping, Ruben would never have gotten away. Joe Di's seventh wave of blade momentum could have shattered the formation in an instant and locked down Ruben's retreat through spacetime laws.
If he could trap Ruben Redlin for even a breath, Joe Di could easily use Time's Second Loom to claim his head.
But Joe Di was keenly aware of the consequences—Saint City was far too bustling. If his blade momentum broke through Ruben Redlin's protective formation, half the city could be destroyed.
With the terrifying power of the seventh wave of Time's Third Loom, countless lives in Saint City would be lost beneath the blade tide.
From afar, countless cultivators watched as endless blade intent erupted from the top of Ruben Redlin's Dao Hall, shredding even his protective formation. Yet the blade's killing intent soon receded, vanishing without a trace.
No one saw Ruben Redlin escape, but many witnessed Joe Di entering the Dao Hall. The crowd quickly assumed the unfortunate outsider had been slain by Ruben Redlin over a Fire Dao Rule Stone.
Joe Di was unconcerned about not killing Ruben Redlin. He didn't even think of leaving; instead, he repaired the formation and prepared to cultivate for a while in the hall where Ruben had previously secluded himself.
His clash with Ruben Redlin gave him a clearer understanding of the Edict Saints here. With his current strength, he need not fear Fourth Step Edict Saints.
As for Fifth Step experts, according to Guan Chengshan, there were only about ten in this domain. Joe Di doubted any would come here just for Ruben Redlin.
Even if a Fifth Step expert did arrive, so what? If he couldn't win, Joe Di was confident he could still escape.
For these reasons, Joe Di felt no pressure at all, treating the Dao Hall as his own resting place. He even drew out a Dao vein and rearranged a spirit gathering formation.
Joe Di's first move was not to break through to the Creation Realm, but to summon his Dao Fire and draw out the Fire Dao Rule Stone.
As expected, his Dao Fire immediately engulfed the Fire Dao Rule Stone, conjuring wave after wave of fire laws. Some were familiar to Joe Di, while others were entirely new—constantly shifting and refining into higher-level fire laws.
Joe Di knew his Dao Fire was advancing. He left it alone, allowing the Dao Tree to shield his body while waves of Dao aura began to swirl around him—he was preparing to reach the peak of the Third Step.