Although they called for help, both James Wan and the Redlin Patriarch knew that Owen Sander's chances of saving them were almost zero.
Just as the two were about to resign themselves to fate, Owen Sander suddenly raised his hand and unleashed two streaks of black light.
The two streaks of black light struck precisely at the Time Arrows Joe Di had shot toward James Wan and the Redlin Patriarch. The Time Arrows paused slightly, and the spatial binding weakened. Both James Wan and the Redlin Patriarch, having lived countless years, seized the opportunity without hesitation.
Blood burst forth as Owen Sander's intervention allowed James Wan and the Redlin Patriarch to dodge. The Time Arrows merely grazed their arms before vanishing.
Under the impact of the Time Arrows, both their arms were reduced to nothingness.
Both were overwhelmed with emotion and quickly bowed to Owen Sander, saying, "Thank you, Senior Sander, for saving our lives."
Compared to losing their lives, an arm was nothing. They possessed treasures and, given a hundred thousand years, could fully restore their limbs.
Owen Sander nodded to them. "I've been friends with members of both the Divine Clan and the Redlin Clan for a long time. Saving you was only a casual gesture; it was nothing."
After Joe Di left, Owen Sander's attitude toward James Wan and the Redlin Patriarch clearly improved. Finishing his words, Owen Sander turned to Jasper Bai. Joe Di's arrow had only disgusted Jasper Bai and hadn't truly harmed him.
Jasper Bai's expression was ugly. He grabbed a man at random and struck him with countless Dao seals. As the seals landed, blood-stained Dao marks emerged from the man's body and shot directly toward the Life-and-Death Gate.
As the blood-mark seeped out, the man Jasper Bai had seized grew increasingly emaciated. In just moments, he was reduced to nothingness.
Jasper Bai looked at Owen Sander and Raina Wen, saying, "If you have a sacrifice, hurry and bring it out. I didn't catch a strong Human Clan cultivator, just a mid-stage Fifth Step at best."
Owen Sander smiled faintly, then grabbed a cultivator—a Human Clan woman, also at mid-stage Fifth Step. With both hands, he unleashed Dao seals, extracting her soul and blood, transforming them into Dao marks and offering them to the Life-and-Death Gate.
Raina Wen remained motionless, either lacking a sacrifice or knowing that two were enough.
As the woman was gradually sacrificed, Owen Sander, Jasper Bai, and Raina Wen let out long howls, breaking free from the binding Life-and-Death Sand and darting toward the Life-and-Death Gate like lightning.
James Wan and the Redlin Patriarch naturally followed without hesitation. Having lost an arm, if they didn't seize this chance to enter the Life-and-Death Gate behind these Sixth Step experts, they might never reach the Sixth Step.
Zachary Yu hesitated only briefly before charging in as well.
......
As soon as Joe Di entered the Life-and-Death Gate, he was immediately crushed by Dao resonance teetering between life and death. His divine essence and Dao intent were compressed to the extreme; unless he changed or could not change this state, he would soon lose consciousness under the crushing power of the supreme Life-and-Death Grand Way here.
There was no way Joe Di would let the Life-and-Death Grand Way strip away his consciousness—losing consciousness meant being at the mercy of others.
Around his Dao Tree, the Grand Way surged wildly, and three distinct Dao Rings encircled Joe Di, shielding him. As he pressed forward, the rings expanded, pushing aside the crushing Life-and-Death Dao resonance. Gradually, the pressure receded, and Joe Di found the space around him growing freer.
Joe Di breathed a sigh of relief, secretly lamenting that if his cultivation were stronger, he wouldn’t need his Dao Tree to break through the oppressive Life-and-Death Dao resonance. He could have absorbed it into his own Grand Way, using the Dao Tree’s insight to grow another Dao Branch.
With the protection of the three Dao Rings emanating from his Dao Tree, Joe Di’s speed increased steadily.
After half a month of relentless flight, Joe Di grew puzzled. Just how deep was this Life-and-Death Gate? At his speed, he should have crossed it long ago.
Owen Sander had said the Life-and-Death Gate was set up by a Human Clan expert. For such a cultivator to forge a place like this, their strength surely exceeded the Sixth Step.
But what was the true purpose behind creating the Life-and-Death Gate? If the expert was waiting on the other side...
At this thought, Joe Di instinctively halted, his pace slowing to a stop.
If crossing the Life-and-Death Gate was already so arduous, wouldn’t facing the expert beyond it be even more effortless for them?
More importantly, why set up the Life-and-Death Gate at all? Joe Di didn’t believe in such selfless benefactors—no one would build the gate just to help weaker cultivators cross and pursue higher realms.
If that wasn’t the reason, then what was...
Joe Di’s divine sense fell upon the Dao Rings extending from his Dao Tree. He possessed three Dao Rings, each corresponding to a Grand Way branch on his Dao Tree. Every branch encircled him, shielding him from the Life-and-Death Dao resonance permeating the gate.
Not everyone had three Dao Rings—he owed this to his two closest brothers. Without all three, a single Dao Ring wouldn’t be enough to withstand the crushing Life-and-Death Dao resonance within the gate.
Owen Sander and Jasper Bai had urged him to offer his essence blood to the Life-and-Death Gate, likely hoping it would merge with the gate’s Dao resonance...
The thought flashed through Joe Di’s mind like lightning. Why demand a sacrifice? And why must it be a Human Clan cultivator?
Joe Di’s Dao Eye snapped open. Instantly, he noticed a faint ring of Life-and-Death Dao resonance at the edge of his three Dao Rings. It was steadily trying to infiltrate his defenses. But his three Grand Ways were each supreme, forged by his Dao Tree and fused together—ordinary Dao resonance couldn’t penetrate. Instead, his Dao Rings actively repelled the encroaching Life-and-Death ring.
If he had only one Dao Ring, the Life-and-Death ring would have long since seeped through. But what was its purpose? Clearly, it sought to strip away his Grand Way resonance...
Now, with his three Dao Rings prevailing, the Life-and-Death ring was continually pushed back. Yet, if his Dao Rings’ repulsion reached its limit, the Life-and-Death ring might eventually gain the upper hand and infiltrate his Grand Way rings.
This realization sent a chill down Joe Di’s spine. The exterior of the Providence Gate resembled a Dao Tree, and here, the Life-and-Death Gate was stripping away the Grand Way resonance of those who entered. Clearly, enlightenment of the Dao Tree was the ultimate goal—not just for him, but for others too.
Joe Di was simply fortunate—he had met Ye Mo and Ning Cheng, and together, the three of them forged a brand-new universe. Only then was he able to construct his own Dao Tree within the chaos.
At this moment, Joe Di was certain—the one who established the Life-and-Death Gate was harvesting supreme Grand Way branches to build their own Dao Tree.
Sacrificing essence blood? What a fool’s trick. If he had really trusted Owen Sander and offered up his blood, then once inside the gate, his soul and spirit would have been transformed into a Dao Branch for someone else’s Dao Tree.
Every Human Clan cultivator sacrificed here would ultimately be refined into a Grand Way branch. Their Daos might not be strong alone, but gathered together and nourished by the Dao Tree, they could gradually mature and eventually form a complete Dao Branch.
Glaring at the mottled ring of Life-and-Death Dao resonance still trying to infiltrate his three Dao Rings, Joe Di seethed with anger. Damn it—he hadn’t coveted the Life-and-Death Grand Way, but now someone was targeting him instead.
So be it—if death was the price, he refused to believe he had no chance. He’d survived chaos before, hadn’t he?
With this thought, Joe Di steeled himself and decisively withdrew his three Dao Rings.
The moment his Dao Rings vanished, the Life-and-Death Dao resonance surged in, suppressing Joe Di in less than half a breath.
Joe Di closed his eyes, letting the Life-and-Death resonance permeate his Dao body. Then, harnessing his Grand Way, he frantically channeled the resonance into his Dao Tree.
If someone wanted his Grand Way resonance, he’d take the Life-and-Death Dao resonance in return—one more Dao Branch for his Dao Tree.