"Hall Master Jaden..." More than a dozen Prime Realm cultivators and several Hunyuan experts arrived at the third layer of the Grand Ruins, only to encounter Jaden Dai first. Jaden Dai was simply too powerful—even the Hunyuan Saint Emperor had to stop and greet him respectfully with a cupped fist.
Jaden Dai knew the purpose of their arrival. Nodding, he returned the gesture and said, "Fellow Daoists, I understand why you've come here. Because traces of Primordial Chaos Essence appeared here, I have already inspected the location. Regrettably, I must inform you all that I arrived a step too late—the treasures have already been swept away by someone else."
The assembled cultivators sighed inwardly at Jaden Dai's words, realizing that the chaotic treasure likely had nothing to do with them anymore.
With Jaden Dai arriving first, even if there had been anything left, he would have claimed it. Who was Jaden Dai? Unless one of the Ten Prodigies showed up, no one would dare to snatch anything from him.
Jaden Dai understood their thoughts. He chuckled and said, "Let me be clear—I did not obtain the treasure. Besides, if I had seized the chaotic treasure, I wouldn't be standing guard here."
Several Hunyuan experts, hearing this, immediately had other ideas. Indeed, if Jaden Dai had acquired the chaotic treasure, why would he remain here?
Jaden Dai's presence here meant only one thing—he hadn't managed to seize the Primordial Chaos Treasure. He was waiting, guarding this place for whoever had taken it to emerge.
Jaden Dai inwardly scorned them. He was certain that if he weren't here blocking the way, this rabble would never catch Joe Di after entering the third layer of the Grand Ruins.
He had never met Joe Di, but he already knew this so-called ant was far from simple. If Joe Di were easy to capture, he wouldn't still be empty-handed today. If his target hadn't been Joe Di, he would have long since caught Dean Carter from Great Buddha Mountain.
It was possible that either Joe Di or Dean Carter had taken his Five Directional Banners. However, he was now almost certain—over ninety percent sure—that Joe Di was the culprit, while Dean Carter's odds were below ten percent. This was because Joe Di had been acting furtively since leaving Dao Ridge, whereas Dean Carter had never bothered to conceal his movements.
"May I ask what Hall Master Jaden means by this?" asked a Hunyuan expert whose appearance was as wooden as a log, cupping his fists.
Everyone recognized him—one of the rare rogue Hunyuan experts, Quinn Muir. Quinn Muir possessed a supreme wood attribute spiritual root. Known for his cruelty, he delighted in devouring the blood essence of other wood attribute cultivators.
Jaden Dai spoke again, "The Grand Ruins are boundless, but the culprit is certainly within its third layer. I remain here to prevent his escape. Now that so many have arrived, my suggestion is this: some of us enter the third layer to search, while a few stay behind to guard this place."
A middle-aged man who had just advanced to Hunyuan cupped his fists and said, "Hall Master Jaden is right. However, there is only one chaotic treasure. Even if someone obtains it, with so many of us here, it cannot be divided."
Jaden Dai sneered inwardly but continued, "What I want to tell you all is that what appeared this time is not a chaotic treasure..."
Jaden Dai paused for a moment. Though no one refuted him, many cultivators inwardly scorned his words. That Primordial Chaos Essence was sensed from afar by everyone—even after arriving here. Now he claimed it wasn't a chaotic treasure; who would believe such nonsense?
Despite knowing what they were thinking, Jaden Dai still said, "Because what appeared this time was Primordial Chaos Essence..."
"What?" Nearly everyone was stunned.
Primordial Chaos Essence? This was a treasure every cultivator desperately needed. If one encountered a Saint Artificer, Primordial Chaos Essence could be fused into a magical artifact, transforming it into a pseudo-chaotic artifact.
"Hall Master Jaden, is it truly Primordial Chaos Essence?" Quinn Muir's hands trembled with excitement. He had been stuck at mid-stage Hunyuan for countless years; if this continued, he feared his lifespan would end before he could break through.
If he acquired Primordial Chaos Essence, everything would change. He was confident he could break through to late-stage Hunyuan overnight—and perhaps, one day, even reach the Dao Integration Realm.
Jaden Dai snorted coldly. "I, Jaden Dai, am not here to deceive you. If we work together and find the Primordial Chaos Essence, we'll split it evenly. However, the one who stole it is my enemy—I must take him away myself."
No one challenged Jaden Dai's words. Compared to Primordial Chaos Essence, whatever that young man possessed was of little concern to the others.
......
While Jaden Dai led a group of experts searching for Joe Di in the third layer of the Grand Ruins, Joe Di had already stopped refining Cloudveil Pills.
He had just attempted to refine seven batches of Cloudveil Pills, all of which failed without exception. The only batch that produced pills resulted in lifeless, dead Cloudveil Pills.
Joe Di dared not continue. Each Dao Fruit was incomparably precious—if he kept consuming them like this, he might exhaust every Dao Fruit in his Dao Fruit Orchard and still never become a Dao Pill Saint.
He could even refine Prime Origin Pills, so why was it so difficult to produce Dao Pills?
It certainly wasn't a lack of skill in alchemy—there had to be something about the Dao Fruit itself. Dao Fruits were precious precisely because they contained a trace of Dao resonance. Every Dao Fruit possessed Dao resonance.
He cultivated the Dao of Rules, and his alchemy was derived from the evolution of rule-based Dao. When refining Dao Pills, he followed the same methods as when producing divine pills...
Suddenly, Joe Di sensed he was on the verge of grasping something, yet there was still a missing piece.
The difference between Dao Pills and divine pills was the Dao itself... So should he try to infuse his own Dao rules into the pill refinement process?
It had to be so. Joe Di took out another Cloudveil Immortal Fruit, but hesitated just as he was about to place it into the pill furnace.
If that was truly the case, then even if he succeeded in refining a Dao Pill, it would contain his own Dao. Setting aside the value of such a pill, Joe Di was unwilling to infuse his Dao into it and risk having it exposed to others. Besides, even if he did, others might not appreciate it.
Every cultivator has their own Dao—no matter how powerful another's Dao may be, it has nothing to do with oneself.
The reason Dao Pills are called Dao Pills is likely because the Dao comes from the Dao Fruit itself—not from the alchemist. Yes, that must be it.
The difficulty in refining Dao Pills lay in the fact that once any Dao Fruit was melted and purified, its Dao would dissipate entirely. For divine pills, this didn't matter, but Dao Pills must restore the original Dao principles of the Dao Fruit and fully manifest them, allowing the cultivator to perceive them clearly when consumed...
Joe Di placed the Cloudveil Immortal Fruit into the pill furnace, ignited the Dao fire, and watched as the fruit melted. This time, instead of purifying the pill liquid as he did for divine pills, he tried every means to preserve the trace of Dao resonance within the Dao Fruit.
At first, it was extremely difficult. Joe Di spent a full two hours, and the Dao resonance in the Cloudveil Fruit still gradually faded. Yet, rather than feeling discouraged, he grew more excited. During those two hours, he deduced a new pill formula from the Dao of Rules.
His pill formula could not only completely preserve the trace of Dao resonance in the Dao Fruit, but also thoroughly remove its impurities. Once a cultivator consumed this purified Dao resonance, they could clearly sense its Dao aura.
He took out another Cloudveil Immortal Fruit. This time, Joe Di swiftly removed its impurities, then added auxiliary Divine Spirit Herbs. In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the pill liquid in the Cosmic Cauldron began to emit a fragrant aroma under his pill formula. Joe Di was overjoyed—this was it.
Another incense stick's time passed, and Joe Di casually produced twelve pale red Cloudveil Pills. Each Dao Pill brimmed with vitality, Dao resonance flowing within, and the pill stripes were clearly visible.
For his first successful Dao Pill refinement, he produced five-stripe Cloudveil Pills.
Joe Di let out a long breath—he had finally become a true Dao Pill Saint. With the experience of refining Cloudveil Dao Pills, he was confident that making Dao Nurturing Pills and Transformation Dao Pills in the future would never be as difficult again.
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)