"Percy Payne, if someone climbs the Stellar Tier and follows behind another for a long stretch, does it have any effect?" Joe Di had tailed Gavin Strider for quite a while during their ascent. If this would impact his own advancement, he certainly wouldn’t let Gavin Strider off so easily.
Joe Di did not have to wait long. After just seven days, the cosmic Dao principles around him suddenly transformed, changing from a hollow emptiness to a vast, majestic aura that filled the endless universe.
Everyone began to cultivate with fervor, and Joe Di was no exception. Previously, after just one cycle, he could already sense the difference. Now, he intended to cultivate here for a while longer, uncertain what changes might occur.
After a single cycle, surging Dao rhythm pulsed around him. Even when cultivating his rules Dao, Joe Di could, for the first time, clearly sense the subtle shifts in his own rules under the cyclic flow. With these subtle changes, he could even deduce his own divine abilities at will.
But Joe Di did not focus on deducing his divine abilities; such techniques were secondary to him, unless they were peerless arts. What mattered most was refining the Dao rhythm of his Grand Way. Compared to the true powerhouses, he still had a gap to close. Once his Dao rhythm was condensed to a certain level, he would be able to unleash five consecutive strikes of the Triple Loom.
If he could unleash all five blades of the Triple Loom in succession, it would be far more than just a tide of blade waves—it would become a continuous, unending torrent of blade force, its power more than doubled.
Apart from Percy Payne who still lingered on the periphery of the boulder, everyone else atop the giant stone had quieted down, immersed in frenzied cultivation.
This grand, vast cosmic Dao aura lasted for seven full days before the Dao rhythm suddenly dissipated. The cultivators began to chat amongst themselves again, but Joe Di was inwardly elated. In just seven days, his Dao rhythm had grown far denser than before—a process that would have taken centuries through ordinary cultivation. Here, it took only seven days.
Although his cultivation level did not rise, if this continued, he would soon unleash the fifth blade. Once the fifth blade manifested, no one else on this boulder would be his match.
This time, after six days, the cultivation aura descended once again. Joe Di continued his mad cultivation, though this cycle lasted only six days.
As time passed, Joe Di gradually discerned a pattern: after a few days of rest, the cultivators could then spend a few days in focused cultivation.
Day after day, year after year—Joe Di had been trapped atop the Stellar Tier boulder for nearly a century. At first, he was anxious, but as time was gradually consumed by cultivation, he simply settled his mind. This was not something he could control, and impatience was useless. His strength was not yet sufficient. Perhaps one day, he would be able to change his fate, but that day had not yet come.
On this day, just as the Dao rhythm on the boulder surged once more, Joe Di—his divine sense always locked onto the outside void—suddenly detected a stone. It was a yellowish-brown stone.
The Stellar Tier had appeared. Joe Di immediately shot toward the yellowish-brown stone at his fastest speed.
Joe Di was fast, but several others atop the boulder were no slower. The only reason he gained a slight advantage was that he had always cultivated near the edge, while the others stayed closer to the center. Though the distance was small, among powerhouses, even the smallest gap was significant.
"Kid, you've got guts. I've waited all these years, and you just show up wanting to seize the Stellar Tier? Heh, so what if you're from the Ninth World? Bullying Percy Payne is one thing, but trying to bully me—you've got a ways to go. Take this!" A long-bearded, pale-skinned man, seeing Joe Di outpace him, was instantly displeased. As he spoke, he threw a punch at Joe Di, not caring that both of them were suspended in the vast void of the Stellar Tier.
Joe Di and the long-bearded, pale-skinned cultivator were the fastest, but the others were not far behind. As the long-bearded man threw his punch, three more cultivators also rushed toward the newly appeared yellowish-brown Stellar Tier.
No one knew for sure whether the Primeval Dao Principle truly existed, and even if Joe Di did possess it, there was no guarantee he could seize the opportunity. But stepping onto the Stellar Tier was a necessity—anyone who failed would simply wait here to die.
Joe Di understood clearly—this battle was crucial. If he showed even the slightest sign of weakness, the others would swarm him in an instant.
In fact, Joe Di was not mistaken. Although only five people rushed toward the Stellar Tier, about twenty more waited at the edge of the boulder—more than a third of those present—clearly biding their time for an opportunity.
Endless space arrows and blades of time swept over him, yet Joe Di neither blocked nor dodged. Not only did he ignore the space arrows, he didn’t evade the long-bearded man’s fist either. His only action was to summon the Azure Veil Blade with all his might, unleashing a strike—the Triple Loom!
The blade light surged down in a curtain, instantly transforming into a tide of blades that swept for ninety thousand miles.
Even within the vastness of the Stellar Tier, the tide of blade force from the Triple Loom rolled forth with thunderous roars.
Apart from the long-bearded, pale-skinned man, the three cultivators trailing behind instinctively paused. They had witnessed Joe Di’s blade—waves stretching ninety thousand miles. If caught up in that torrent, the consequences would be dire. Percy Payne was a case in point.
Bang! The long-bearded man's punch, along with countless space arrows, struck Joe Di. Even with the protection of the Void Mountain and the World Tome, Joe Di still spat a mouthful of blood from Dao rhythm backlash; his aura instantly weakened, a clear sign of heavy injury. Yet Joe Di knew that by braving this blow, he had seized the initiative. The Triple Loom relied on that very advantage—if the opponent gained momentum, his technique could not form a continuous torrent of blade force.
Seeing Joe Di endure his punch unscathed, and not even bothering to block the space arrows or time blades, the long-bearded man realized that Joe Di must possess top-tier defensive armor.
He also understood that Joe Di’s blade was meant to seize the initiative, which was why he had risked taking a punch. Too bad he realized it too late—had he known sooner, he would have gone all out from the start. Now, all he could do was summon his Unbound Banner.
He had studied Joe Di’s technique closely. To counter Joe Di, one had to seize the initiative, then block the tide of blades. That punch was his attempt to gain the upper hand. But Joe Di, willing to take the injury, unleashed his blade regardless, forcing the long-bearded man to summon his Unbound Banner after the punch.
Still, it didn’t matter—if he could block Joe Di’s tide of blades, the moment would become Joe Di’s disadvantage, and then he could strike with full force, utterly crushing him. In his view, Joe Di had not continued to attack Percy Payne out of mercy, but because his blade tide could only reach the fourth wave, never any higher.
The long-bearded man was correct in his analysis, but what he hadn’t expected was that in just a hundred years, Joe Di’s blade technique had reached a new level.
Boom! The relentless tide of blade force crashed against the Unbound Banner, erupting in terrifying explosions.
The long-bearded man was far stronger than Percy Payne, and his Unbound Banner was extraordinary. No matter how mighty Joe Di’s tide of blades, no matter how terrifying the waves, they could not cross the Unbound Banner’s forbidden boundary.
Joe Di’s heart sank. He knew his fifth blade was not yet ready. If this man blocked his Triple Loom with the Unbound Banner, there was no way Joe Di could claim the Stellar Tier today.
With that thought, Joe Di hesitated no longer and drew forth the Opening Brush. He did not use it to cast the Opening Incantation—the cosmic rules here limited its power, and it would not work against the long-bearded man. Instead, while the blade waves of the Triple Loom still raged, he unleashed the second move of the Triple Loom.
This time, the Opening Brush didn’t paint a character in the void, but a picture—a bow, to be precise. The curved bow hovered in the sky, and in Joe Di’s open palm, Dao rhythm flowed as a long arrow, condensed from endless years of killing intent, was nocked onto the bow.
Second Loom—woven of life and death, two realms apart. As I turn back, I draw my bow northward, loosing the arrow at the celestial wolf.