"Brother Di, you're too polite. About this sect barrier..." Leo Li was delighted to see Joe Di awaken from his enlightenment so quickly. At least Joe Di had acknowledged the favor from his earlier words.
As a genius disciple from a top-tier sect, Leo Li had only spent a short time with Joe Di, but he could already tell that Joe Di was a cultivator of immense potential. Since there were no conflicts of interest, befriending someone like him could only be beneficial.
"Let's attack again." After speaking, Joe Di grabbed a handful of array banners and threw down the first one.
This time, Joe Di's use of array banners was different from before. Previously, when he guided everyone in their attacks, it was purely offensive.
Now that he had stepped into the rank of Grand Arraymaster, Joe Di's array banners could suppress the Sect Guardian Array's automatic restoration. As he threw more and more banners, the suppression became increasingly powerful.
No matter how formidable a sect barrier was, once it lost its ability to automatically repair itself, it couldn't withstand the attacks of thousands for long.
In just three days, the grand array emitted another sharp cracking sound.
This time, the crack was different from before. After the initial fracture, the entire array began to resonate with continuous rumbles, and dense spiritual energy started to seep out.
All the cultivators attacking the Mountain Guardian Array stared in shock at the transformation before them. With one final, explosive crack—
A broad avenue of blue stone, dozens of feet wide, appeared. The path led straight to the sect's entrance, where three bold, floating characters stood out: Skyblade Sect.
"Yes..." Sprout replied, but his figure had already vanished deep within the sect.
Joe Di swept his vast spiritual sense across the sect. He resolved to preserve its heritage, knowing this was his responsibility.
With his sharpened spiritual sense, Joe Di quickly located the Scripture Pavilion.
For any sect, the most crucial part of its heritage is the Scripture Pavilion.
Activating his Mindshift technique, Joe Di appeared instantly at the Scripture Pavilion. Two Golden Core cultivators were already there, attacking the protective array outside.
As soon as Joe Di arrived, both cultivators halted their assault, fully aware of his fearsome reputation.
"Greetings, fellow Daoists. I intend to take this Scripture Pavilion—perhaps you can find your fortune elsewhere." Joe Di clasped his fists, his tone polite enough.
The two Golden Core cultivators were reluctant to leave—the Skyblade Sect was clearly intact, and its Scripture Pavilion was a treasure. But they knew well the extent of Joe Di's power and his ruthlessness.
It was almost entirely thanks to Joe Di that the sect's barrier was shattered so quickly.
"Yes, senior." However frustrated they felt, the two cultivators could only step aside.
"Yes..." Sprout replied, but his figure had already vanished deep within the sect.
Joe Di swept his vast spiritual sense across the sect. He resolved to preserve its heritage, knowing this was his responsibility.
With his sharpened spiritual sense, Joe Di quickly located the Scripture Pavilion.
For any sect, the most crucial part of its heritage is the Scripture Pavilion.
Activating his Mindshift technique, Joe Di appeared instantly at the Scripture Pavilion. Two Golden Core cultivators were already there, attacking the protective array outside.
As soon as Joe Di arrived, both cultivators halted their assault, fully aware of his fearsome reputation.
"Greetings, fellow Daoists. I intend to take this Scripture Pavilion—perhaps you can find your fortune elsewhere." Joe Di clasped his fists, his tone polite enough.
The two Golden Core cultivators were reluctant to leave—the Skyblade Sect was clearly intact, and its Scripture Pavilion was a treasure. But they knew well the extent of Joe Di's power and his ruthlessness.
It was almost entirely thanks to Joe Di that the sect's barrier was shattered so quickly.
"Yes, senior." However frustrated they felt, the two cultivators could only step aside.
After the two cultivators stepped aside, Joe Di inspected the protective array. Though it was a ninth-level formation, it was strangely damaged. No wonder the two Golden Core cultivators were attacking it—with their abilities, they could break it in half a day.
Logically, with the grand sect array intact, the protective array shouldn't be damaged. Who knows what happened when the sect was sealed.
Determined to take the Scripture Pavilion, Joe Di's Grand Arraymaster skills quickly pinpointed the core of the damaged array.
He tossed down array banners, quickly shielding the Scripture Pavilion. Then, he slipped into the core and threw out hundreds more banners.
A ley line rich with spiritual energy appeared before Joe Di. Without hesitation, he sent the twenty-zhang-long ley line into his Pocket World.
The roar from Joe Di extracting the ley line drew the attention of all the cultivators in the Skyblade Sect. Yet, no one approached—everyone was frantically gathering treasures.
With the ley line gone, the Scripture Pavilion's protective array was useless. As a Grand Arraymaster, Joe Di easily stored the pavilion in his Pocket World.
After collecting the Scripture Pavilion, Joe Di quickly left. He could only rely on Sprout to seize the sect's herb garden.
The most precious thing in Skyblade Sect was, of course, the Scripture Pavilion. Next was the ley line.
Everyone knew how valuable a ley line from a complete sect was, but not just anyone could take it. First, you had to know where it was; second, you needed a storage device capable of holding it.
No one knew the location of the ley line better than Joe Di.
Joe Di was the one who opened the sect's barrier. He didn't rush to collect the ley line; instead, he headed straight for the supreme blade at the peak. The ley line could wait—no one else could extract it quickly anyway.
When Joe Di arrived at the foot of the peak where the blade rested, several people were already there.
"Senior Joe!" Upon seeing him arrive, the group hurriedly clasped their fists in greeting. To them, Joe Di was at least a Nascent Soul expert.
"Are you all after this blade as well?" Joe Di asked.
One of the Golden Core cultivators quickly replied, "This blade is hard to claim. There are stairs up Skyblade Peak—I only made it to the twenty-seventh step before the blade intent forced me back down."
Joe Di noticed a blood mark on the cultivator's chest—it was clearly the work of the Skyblade's intent.
Looking up, Joe Di saw three large silver characters inscribed on the cliff face: Skyblade Peak.
A series of stone steps led up to the peak, each pair spaced a full ten meters apart.
Joe Di stepped onto the first stair. A faint blade aura swept over him, and he immediately understood why the Golden Core cultivator was forced back by the Skyblade Intent.
This weak blade aura was formed by blade intent—it seemed each step up the stone stairs made the blade intent stronger.
Joe Di grew excited—his magical weapon was a blade, and these stairs, brimming with ever-stronger blade intent, were the perfect place to hone his skills.
Sure enough, as Joe Di stepped onto the second stair, the blade aura nearly doubled in strength.
No matter how strong the blade aura ahead became, it didn't faze Joe Di. In a short time, he reached over forty steps.
Seeing Joe Di reach the fortieth step with ease, while they themselves had been injured at the twentieth or thirtieth, the Golden Core cultivators felt even greater awe for him.
It wasn't until the forty-ninth step that Joe Di finally felt some pressure.
The blade aura became tangible, forcing Joe Di to wield his long blade in defense. A moment's carelessness and he'd be struck or forced off the stairs.
Though the blade aura could injure him, it couldn't force him off the stairs.
After the fiftieth step, each new stair left Joe Di with one or two blade marks. His powerful spiritual sense and quick reactions let him dodge or block most attacks—otherwise, he'd have been thrown off long ago.
As Joe Di stepped onto the seventy-second stair, a sudden blade aura struck him square in the chest.
"Pfft!" Blood sprayed from Joe Di's chest as panic surged through him, his true essence frantically mobilized.
Bang! An invisible blade shadow slammed into Joe Di's surging true essence, fracturing half his bones. Thankfully, his thick true essence and concentrated spiritual sense wall blocked the attack before it reached his Stellar Nexus. Otherwise, that blade shadow could have killed him outright, not just knocked him off the stairs.
Seeing dozens more stairs ahead, Joe Di knew he couldn't reach the summit to claim the blade. The invisible blade shadow had struck without warning, and even his spiritual sense hadn't detected it.
To claim the blade, he'd need even stronger spiritual sense—and to be a body-refining cultivator. Otherwise, not only would he fail to comprehend the blade intent, he might well perish here.
Joe Di was decisive—since he couldn't claim the blade, he immediately retreated.