"Very well. I hope you still have a chance to try again in a moment..." Chi Yao chuckled, then summoned a blazing crimson Dao vein, its violent aura sweeping toward Joe Di.
Even a fool could see that Chi Yao intended to kill Joe Di first, then take care of Hao Zuo as an afterthought.
Joe Di felt a shock in his heart—could a Dao vein be used as a treasure? But he quickly realized this wasn’t a Dao vein at all. Instead, this artifact contained an incredibly clear and refined aura of cosmic law, seemingly even more advanced than a Dao vein.
Facing such a terrifying attack, Joe Di couldn’t care less about exposing anything. Without hesitation, he summoned the Chaos Gate.
As soon as the Chaos Gate appeared, it was as if a vast new universe had been established. Its boundless, profound Dao aura spread out, drawing everyone’s attention.
From a distance, Charles Bei gasped when he saw the Chaos Gate appear. Only now did he realize that even Derek Bian’s Chaos Gate had ended up in Joe Di’s hands.
The reason Derek Bian was forced into reincarnation was most likely because the Chaos Gate had been stolen from him. But Joe Di’s Chaos Gate definitely didn’t come from Derek Bian directly—it must have been taken from the one who killed Derek Bian.
Anyone capable of killing Derek Bian would be no ordinary figure, and yet Joe Di had defeated such an opponent—showing just how powerful he was. No wonder even Chi Yao’s avatar had been slain by Joe Di. Charles Bei, who had long been transformed by Chi Yao into a Heavenly Dao Reincarnation Law, had no idea that the Chaos Gate was originally used by Sean Chen to suppress Chi Yao.
"Chaos Gate!" Upon seeing the Chaos Gate, Chi Yao was furious.
Although the Chaos Gate was originally used by Sean Chen to suppress parts of the Five Elements Universe—and also to restrain Chi Yao—Chi Yao had already set his sights on it. He planned to seize the Chaos Gate as soon as he regained his mobility, then thank Sean Chen for the opportunity. But before he could recover, Joe Di had already taken the Chaos Gate. Not only that, Joe Di had unleashed the vast chaotic aura of the Five Elements Universe.
Thinking back, Joe Di had not only taken away and shattered one of his Grand Way Principles, but also killed his predetermined successor in the Creation Nest. He had destroyed three of his Avatars, stolen their Dao Principles, seized his Cosmic Extreme Vein and Vast Iron Crystal, as well as the Jade Disc, and severed his Heaven's Law...
The rage in Chi Yao's chest threatened to ignite. Old grudges and new hatreds surged in his heart. Chi Yao ignored his own injuries, and with a fiery Dao Vein like a dragon, he pressed down again, grabbing a handful of Gravel of Oblivion...
That dragon-like Dao Vein pressed down, leaving Joe Di gasping for breath. As Chi Yao drew out the Gravel of Oblivion, Joe Di felt himself completely shrouded by death. There was no path to survival left for him.
Joe Di's heart sank to rock bottom. Even before Chi Yao unleashed the Gravel of Oblivion, he felt an unstoppable sense of death. What would happen once Chi Yao did release that black gravel? He didn't even know what terrifying power it held, only that it filled him with dread.
The best choice was to escape immediately. Joe Di believed that with his mastery of evasion, Chi Yao would never catch him. But once the Gravel of Oblivion was unleashed, he feared he wouldn't even have the chance to flee.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The fiery Dao Principle dragon swept down, blasting Joe Di's Chaos Gate backward. Joe Di spat out a stream of blood, while his Heavenly Blade carried a chilling blade intent.
Joe Di knew clearly—there was no way out. He couldn't retreat, not even in death. Even if he had to die, he would stand and face it here.
This clash of Dao resonance was unlike the battles Joe Di fought against Ju Yan and Hao Zuo. This time, the collision tore open the Sacred Plaza, leaving crack after crack in the void.
Only now did everyone see clearly—the void fissures in the Sacred Plaza were filled with a bleak, oppressive aura of death. Even if no one entered, it was obvious: under that suffocating deathly pressure, no one could survive.
In other words, anyone who charged into those fissures was doomed to die.
Crack! The ruthless blade force crashed against the fiery Dao vein that continued to crush all rules, but the rules of that vein were far beyond what Joe Di's divine Dao technique could withstand.
Even though Joe Di cultivated the Dao of Rules, facing such a Dao vein artifact, his ruthless blade intent was instantly shattered. The endless river water previously released by Hao Zuo now turned icy cold due to Joe Di's blade intent. This was only because his Chaos Gate blocked the attack once—otherwise, Joe Di would have been even less able to withstand it.
Cultivators with weaker cultivation could only retreat and circulate their energy to resist the extreme cold; they simply could not approach.
Joe Di spat out several mouthfuls of blood in succession; he managed to block Chi Yao's first fiery Dao vein attack, but felt no joy in his heart. The threatening black gravel that could end his life had yet to appear. Once it did, his Chaos Gate would surely not be able to stop it...
Just as Joe Di thought this, he saw Chi Yao raise his hand.
Joe Di desperately burned his essence blood; even if he were to fall, he wanted to make Chi Yao pay a price. At the very least, by the time Ye Mo and Ning Cheng arrived, they could join forces to defeat Chi Yao.
To Joe Di's astonishment, when Chi Yao opened his hand, the oppressive aura of death actually weakened.
What was happening?
Joe Di then saw a fist, as if it had fallen from the cosmos, smash toward Chi Yao. Because of this, the black gravel Chi Yao was about to unleash was withdrawn, and after throwing a punch in response, Chi Yao rapidly retreated.
Crack! Boom! The equally violent and astonishing cosmic laws exploded in the void, causing the entire Sacred Plaza to shake. The Dao resonance and divine essence surged out like a cosmic explosion.
A powerful cultivator had come to help. Joe Di instantly understood, and without caring who it was, he prepared to unleash his Heavenly Blade again. As long as his Threefold and Fourfold Temporal Machines erupted together, today he would let Chi Yao taste his Twofold Temporal Machine's Time-Space Long Arrow.
Joe Di was experienced in battle, and Chi Yao was no fool either. Knowing a powerful cultivator had arrived to help, Chi Yao didn't even unleash the black gravel, but quickly retreated.
Joe Di's gathered killing intent struck as if hitting a ball of cotton—there was no place for it to land.
"Don't bother chasing him. He won't give you that kind of chance," came a slightly aged voice. Only then did Joe Di see that his savior was a slim, immortal-looking elder.
Joe Di quickly bowed, "Thank you, fellow Daoist, for saving me. If not for you, I would have been killed by that bastard Chi Yao."
"Haha..." The elder laughed heartily. "Saving you is saving myself. I'm truly delighted. I never expected, after Ye Mo and Ning Cheng, that you would come as well. Haha..."
"And you are...?" Joe Di looked at the elder in confusion. This person's strength was definitely not inferior to his own, nor to Ye Mo or Ning Cheng. When had such a powerful cultivator appeared? How had Joe Di never heard of him?
"Just call me Zi Xiao. As for my name from long ago, I've already forgotten it. Wait a moment—I want to demand something from Chi Yao." With that, Zi Xiao turned to Chi Yao and chuckled, "Chi Yao, isn't it about time you returned my things?"
Chi Yao retreated—not because he feared Joe Di and Zi Xiao joining forces, but because he worried that if they entangled him, Ye Mo and Ning Cheng would return. His injuries hadn't healed yet; if faced with four opponents at once, he might well lose.
Once his injuries healed, he would use the Sacred Plaza to condense his Dao field and attempt a breakthrough to the Fourth Step. As long as he reached the Fourth Step, even if the four joined forces, he could crush them.
At Zi Xiao's questioning, Chi Yao didn't even bother to reply, snorted coldly, and turned to leave. After a few steps, he looked back at Zi Xiao, "It seems you've found it, but to me, you're still no different from an ant."
Zi Xiao knew Chi Yao had no intention of returning his things, and he was powerless to change that. With just himself and Joe Di, it was indeed wishful thinking to make Chi Yao hand them over.
Joe Di quickly said, "So you are Senior Zi Xiao. I, Joe Di, greet Senior."
He had long heard Ye Mo and Ning Cheng speak of Senior Zi Xiao—a truly respectable powerhouse and a genuine senior.
Zi Xiao sighed, "My Dao has a serious flaw. While I was perfecting my own Dao, this man set me up and took my treasure."