In the Central Realm, aside from the Destiny Guild which specializes in commerce and intelligence, the Five Grand Sects hold the highest prestige. Among them, the Swordcloud Sect is the most renowned.
Joe Di now stood outside the Swordcloud Sect, gazing at its vast and majestic presence with quiet admiration. It was truly a pity that such a grand sect would soon be erased from the Central Star.
However, if he didn't destroy the Swordcloud Sect, one day it would inevitably annihilate the Starstream Order. Although Starstream Order possessed the densest spiritual energy in the Central Realm, its foundation was far weaker than Swordcloud Sect's—perhaps not even on the same level at all.
Joe Di took out the first formation flag, intending to set up a Blast Array to destroy the entire Swordcloud Sect. At most, he would allow some disciples to escape during the sect's destruction.
Before he could toss out the formation flag, Joe Di suddenly sensed a slight fluctuation in space. Startled, he quickly retreated several steps.
Even with his eleventh-level divine sense, he could only detect a faint disturbance, unable to identify the newcomer. This meant the person's strength was likely above that of Lord Goldwin.
"Fellow Daoist, are you planning to blow up the Swordcloud Sect?" Sure enough, a calm voice sounded beside Joe Di. At the same time, his divine sense detected the newcomer—a graceful Daoist nun in green, holding a dust whisk, appeared before him.
When Joe Di's divine sense landed on the Daoist nun, he was secretly shaken. Her cultivation was at least at the Domain Perfection stage.
There was such a powerful expert in the Central Realm?
"Moria Lane of the Puregate Sect, greetings to Fellow Daoist Joe." The graceful Daoist nun did not consider her strength remarkable, and as she approached Joe Di, she still bowed respectfully.
Joe Di quickly cupped his fists and said, "Joe Di of Starstream Order greets Daoist Moria. Your strength is truly unparalleled in my lifetime."
Moria Lane smiled faintly. Though she was a Daoist nun, just a hint of her smile seemed to brighten the entire wilderness. Even though Joe Di knew she was here to stop him from destroying Swordcloud Sect, he couldn't help but feel a sense of delight.
"Fate has favored you, Fellow Daoist. Your talent is unparalleled, a rarity in ten thousand years." Moria Lane's gaze fell openly upon Joe Di, yet her manner was so natural that it never felt like scrutiny.
Joe Di thought to himself, this was probably the first time someone considered his talent to be extraordinary.
After praising Joe Di, Moria Lane changed her tone and looked toward the distant Swordcloud Sect stronghold. "Fellow Daoist, are you really planning to destroy the Swordcloud Sect?"
"That's right." Joe Di replied simply. Since she knew his intentions, she must also know the reasons behind them.
Moria Lane sighed and said to Joe Di, "Fellow Daoist Joe, it was Shawn Ran of Swordcloud Sect who killed your friend, and you already avenged him at the Central Star Plaza. Whether it was Sect Master Xavier Shaw, Elder Guy Shu, or Elder Grant on the stage, all have turned to dust. The remaining cultivators of Swordcloud Sect have no connection to you. Moreover, Swordcloud Sect's existence in the Central Realm is more than just that of a sect. Could you let it go this time?"
Joe Di calmly asked, "If it were just for myself, I could let Swordcloud Sect go. But if I spare them, can you guarantee that after I leave Central Star, Swordcloud Sect won't destroy my Starstream Order?"
Moria Lane pressed her palms together. "Fellow Daoist Joe, I still have a hundred years left in the Central Realm. For the next century, I guarantee Starstream Order's safety."
"And after a hundred years?" Joe Di stared at Moria Lane, secretly thinking that this Daoist nun's beauty was unlike any female cultivator he'd ever seen—there was a natural, effortless grace to her.
Moria Lane spoke again, "If a sect must destroy a stronger sect just to survive, then its legacy is not worth preserving."
Joe Di opened his mouth to speak. Moria Lane was right—if a sect's survival depended on destroying stronger ones, it would eventually be destroyed itself.
Before Joe Di could respond, Moria Lane continued, "Fellow Daoist Joe, wiping out Swordcloud Sect and Kun Sect may feel satisfying in the moment, but it will sow disaster for Starstream Order. You killed Peng Yun and several Transforming True cultivators like Elder Grant—that was their own fault. But Swordcloud Sect and Kun Sect are more than just those few cultivators. If you actively destroy these sects' bases, it will provoke public outrage in the Central Realm, and may even draw the intervention of True Domain experts."
Joe Di fell silent. No matter how strong he was, he couldn't fight an entire cultivation world—perhaps not even just one.
"Fellow Daoist Joe, I will personally seek out the next successors of Kun Sect and Swordcloud Sect, and explain to them where right and wrong lie. Besides, with your talent, your future achievements will surely be extraordinary. The grievances between you and these sects are settled; further slaughter will not benefit your Dao." Sensing Joe Di's attitude softening, Moria Lane spoke even more sincerely.
Joe Di was silent for a long time before finally saying, "Alright, I believe you."
There were two points Moria Lane made that Joe Di agreed with. First, if a sect relied on destroying others to survive, its existence was meaningless. Second, even if he allowed the disciples of these sects to leave before destroying them, some would refuse—and those who stayed would surely be killed by him.
"Fellow Daoist Joe, you have great wisdom and magnanimity. I thank you." Moria Lane bowed once more.
Joe Di felt a bit embarrassed. In fact, he sensed that Moria Lane's strength was no less than his own. If she had forcibly tried to stop him, he wouldn't have been able to act. As a Domain Perfection expert, Moria Lane showed no arrogance at all; being with her felt as pleasant as sipping a cup of fine tea.
"Senior Sister Moria, I've spent some time in the Central Realm, but I've never heard of the Puregate Sect." After giving up on destroying Swordcloud Sect and Kun Sect, Joe Di suddenly felt a sense of relief. He realized that Moria Lane's intervention might have been as much to help him as to stop him. With newfound affection for her, he even changed his address to 'Senior Sister Moria.'
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Moria Lane's voice was very calm. "Puregate Sect is the guardian sect of the Central Realm, always operating in secret. I am its last disciple."
"Why don't you continue taking disciples?" Joe Di asked instinctively.
"I don't want my disciples to end up like me. Everyone has the right to pursue their own life, not to spend it guarding something meaningless." For the first time, Moria Lane's voice wavered, clearly moved by her own words.
"Is guarding the Central Realm meaningless?" Joe Di asked.
"If a star continent can only exist because a sect guards it, then its existence is meaningless as well. Junior Brother Joe, I'm leaving now. Perhaps fate will let us meet again someday." After answering Joe Di's last question, Moria Lane stepped forward and vanished into the void.
Joe Di watched the direction in which Moria Lane disappeared, feeling a sudden sense of loss.
Moria Lane was fiercely independent in her thinking. She refused to keep passing on disciples to guard the Central Realm, simply because she believed it unnecessary. It was as if she were persuading him: if Starstream Order needed to destroy Swordcloud Sect and Kun Sect to survive, then what was the point of its existence?
Yet Moria Lane was clearly a woman who kept her promises. She inherited the duty to guard the Central Realm from her master, so even though she believed it was wrong, she still stood up to stop him from destroying Swordcloud Sect and Kun Sect.
......
All the remaining Transforming True experts of Swordcloud Sect and Kun Sect went to Starstream Order, attempting to siphon its spiritual veins. However, after the sect master Joe Di activated the protective grand array and killed them, news spread throughout the Central Realm—everyone was waiting for Swordcloud Sect and Kun Sect to be wiped out.
To everyone, this outcome was inevitable. With all Transforming True cultivators of the two Nine Star Sects slain, these sects could no longer survive. The two Hall Masters of Axe King Hall were privately relieved, glad they had made the best choice before.
To everyone's surprise, the sect master of Starstream Order and his two Transforming True elders did not go to destroy Swordcloud Sect and Kun Sect. Instead, Starstream Order held its founding ceremony.
Starstream Order was likely to become the top sect in the Central Realm, so nearly every sect attended its founding ceremony, including their own sect masters. Even the surviving members of Swordcloud Sect and Kun Sect sent representatives to offer congratulations.
As the sect master, Joe Di personally welcomed the other sect masters at the entrance, then had disciples escort them to the main hall, with Miles Phantom and Sean Zell accompanying them.
Soon, the sect masters who came to offer their congratulations noticed something different about Joe Di—no matter what rank their sect was, whether One Star or Nine Star, he greeted everyone with equal warmth.
By midday, almost every prominent sect in the Central Realm had arrived. What puzzled Joe Di was that Violet Thunder Sect and Lunar Snow Mountain had not sent anyone—these were two of the Five Grand Sects, and he had no prior conflict with them.
"Sect Master Joe, a senior asked me to deliver this." After all the sect masters had entered Starstream Order, a cultivator with only Golden Core cultivation approached Joe Di and handed him a jade slip.
Joe Di focused his divine sense on the jade slip. Inside was a somewhat blurry location and a message: "The Realm-Splitting Talisman has been found. I am trapped now. Requesting Sect Master Joe's help—Edward Carter."
From the aura on the jade slip, Joe Di could tell it was indeed left by Edward Carter, the sect master of Immortal Watch Sect. He had made an agreement with Edward Carter: Joe Di would stop seeking trouble with Immortal Watch Sect, and Edward Carter would give him a Realm-Splitting Talisman.
Now, instead of receiving the Realm-Splitting Talisman, Joe Di received Edward Carter's plea for help. Even though the Starstream Order's founding ceremony was still underway, Joe Di decided to go find Edward Carter—this concerned the safety of Jing Mo Shuang.
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