"In fact, I've mentioned the second person who wants me dead to your father. When the day comes that your father kills Dominic Du, he'll remember what I said. Remember, the one who wants me gone is the Heaven's Will of the Five Elements Universe. Heaven's Will will not allow me to live, nor will it permit me to reincarnate..."
Jaxon Di was stunned. If his mother had said this to him in person, he too would never have believed that Heaven's Will could be a person. It was supposed to be an immense cosmic law, the very rules of the universe itself.
"Heaven's Will will not allow me to live, nor will it allow me to reincarnate. Although I once told your father that I might still have a chance at reincarnation, in reality Heaven's Will will never permit it... I defied Heaven's Law and stayed with your father for eight hundred and thirty-one days. Those were the happiest days of my life..."
Jaxon Di clenched his fists. No matter what Heaven's Will was, he was determined to save his mother.
"Heaven's Will suppressing my existence must be related to Dominic Du. You're not strong enough yet. When you reach the Third Step, if your father can kill Dominic Du, tell him about this. If Dominic Du survives, don't pursue it any further—no matter how powerful you become, don't even think about it... I can't bear to leave you all. Remember what I've said, live well..."
After a long time, Jaxon Di finally let out a breath.
According to his mother, in the vast chaos there are countless universes, and the Five Elements Universe is just one among many.
But leaving the Five Elements Universe isn't easy. Legend has it that The Gate of Destiny allows one to escape the Five Elements Universe. Otherwise, only by cultivating to a certain level can one freely depart from their own universe. Dominic Du, it seems, possesses such power.
Originally, the Five Elements Universe was much like any other. But when it was first formed, one individual, through immense willpower, merged with the universe's Dao, allowing the Five Elements Universe to immediately condense clear Heaven's Law. This granted it a touch more fortune than other universes at birth.
Logically, anyone who merges with the universe's Dao to form Heaven's Will—even if they once had emotions and desires—will eventually become pure, cold Heaven's Will, utterly devoid of warmth.
Yet the cultivator who became the Heaven's Will of the Five Elements Universe did not completely erase his sense of self, nor did he truly become a cold and impersonal cosmic law. He always retained self-awareness. Otherwise, there would be no connection to Dominic Du.
Having fully understood the cause and effect, Jaxon Di resolved to rescue his mother.
His mother's instructions were for him to reach the Third Step before seeking his father, but he had only just succeeded in Dao Merging. The Third Step was far more difficult than Dao Merging—if he waited until then, would his mother still be alive?
Even now, Jaxon Di could not be sure whether his mother was still alive.
Since his mother could not reincarnate, as long as she was not dead, she could only be waiting at the Soul Gate for him and his father to save her.
But where was the Soul Gate of the Five Elements Universe? Even though Jaxon Di had achieved Dao Merging, he still did not know its location.
He did not know, but surely someone in his sect did, or perhaps there would be records at the top level of the sect's Dao Pavilion. The Stellar Sect, where he belonged, was one of the three great sects of the Sheji Divine Realm. If even the Stellar Sect could not provide what he needed, he would have no choice but to leave the Sheji Divine Realm and continue his search.
......
Boom! The entire White Palm Mountain exploded into fragments, and a jet-black beam tinged with green shot skyward.
In the instant that the green-black beam soared, all surrounding cosmic laws were torn apart by its force.
What Joe Di never expected was that the defensive grand array he had set up was also torn apart by that greenish-black radiance.
"Wait for me at Genesis City..." Joe Di hurriedly left these words to Jue Ji and Jue Xue before vanishing from sight.
Jue Ji immediately replied, "Brother Di has gone after the Vast Iron Crystal. Let's head to Genesis City now."
Joe Di had never imagined that, once startled, the Vast Iron Crystal's speed and explosive power would be so terrifying. To be honest, this was far beyond his original estimation.
Before trying to move the Vast Iron Crystal, Joe Di knew it was a material surpassing any ordinary universe—far from common. Still, with the grand array he'd set up and his own control over it, he didn't expect the Vast Iron Crystal could escape.
Looking back now, he realized he had been far too arrogant.
The Vast Iron Crystal tore through the grand array in an instant and escaped, ignoring all the Dao Rhyme barriers Joe Di had set up. No wonder Yu Xue had chosen to perform a blood sacrifice on the Vast Iron Crystal—its speed and power were far beyond Yu Xue's capabilities.
When Joe Di followed the Vast Iron Crystal through the Genesis Cradle Domain and into the Vast Void, only then did he realize just how formidable the Vast Iron Crystal truly was.
After breaking through the Vast Void, the Vast Iron Crystal only grew faster. Joe Di was certain that, without his mastery of Rule Escape and a perfected Rule Dao, he wouldn't even be able to glimpse the Vast Iron Crystal. Even now, he could only frantically chase its trail, waiting for an opportunity to catch it.
Such a terrifying Vast Iron Crystal made Joe Di even more determined not to give up. Just imagine—if his Azure Veil Blade were infused with this material, how fearsome would it become?
To deal with Chi Yao, Joe Di had prepared everything he could—except for his own artifact. His artifact had long since taken shape and advanced on its own. After its nirvana, the Azure Veil Blade reached its peak, and it was nearly impossible to upgrade it any further.
Seeking the Vast Iron Crystal to upgrade the Azure Veil Blade was a spur-of-the-moment idea for Joe Di. If he hadn't heard that there was Vast Iron Crystal here, he wouldn't have thought of it. Now, seeing the speed at which the Vast Iron Crystal escaped, Joe Di grew even more eager. He knew just how powerful this material would be for the Azure Veil Blade. He had to obtain it.
Several days later, Joe Di and the Vast Iron Crystal had long since left the Genesis Cradle far behind. Countless shattered planets and massive void meteors blocking the Vast Iron Crystal's path were instantly reduced to debris, yet the Vast Iron Crystal never slowed. Joe Di reckoned that if he were being chased by the Vast Iron Crystal instead of the other way around, he would have been caught long ago.
He did not possess the means of the Vast Iron Crystal, able to ignore all planetary obstacles.
No matter how fast the Vast Iron Crystal moved, Joe Di's divine sense remained locked onto it, and his Rule Escape technique never faltered.
Joe Di knew this couldn't go on. The Vast Iron Crystal could evade him for hundreds of thousands of years, while even if he could keep up for tens of thousands, he didn't have that much time. He had to return to Genesis City soon to participate in the Cosmic Debate and the battle for the Saint Seat.
"Huh! The Vast Iron Crystal?" A gray-clad man sitting on a shattered planet swept his divine sense over the approaching Vast Iron Crystal, nearly ignoring the spatial distance. He was instantly delighted, stood up without hesitation, and unleashed boundless Dao Rhyme as he reached for the Vast Iron Crystal.
Bang! The Vast Iron Crystal easily tore through the gray-clad man's Dao Rhyme barrier, exploded into a spray of blood, blasting apart the man's palm, and sped away.
As Joe Di passed the man while chasing the Vast Iron Crystal, he was secretly shocked by the cultivator's strength. The Vast Iron Crystal's power only managed to blow apart half of the man's palm.
To Joe Di's delight, the gray-clad man's attempt to stop the Vast Iron Crystal had brought him much closer to it.
Joe Di would not let the Vast Iron Crystal widen the gap again. Without hesitation, he unleashed billions of rules, like invisible threads, to bind the Vast Iron Crystal.
The threads of rules binding the Vast Iron Crystal were constantly torn apart and exploded, yet its speed did not seem to slow—only stopped increasing. Now that it was entangled, Joe Di would not allow its speed to rise again.
His hand seals grew faster and faster, and more and more rule threads wrapped around the Vast Iron Crystal.
When countless rules formed a complete chain once more, the Vast Iron Crystal's speed finally slowed again, and Joe Di seized the chance to unleash various rule restraints.
(That's all for today's update—good night, friends!)