"Your concealment technique is impressive. You must have reached the Third Step, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have the qualifications to hunt down Jaden Dai." Emperor Xander looked at Joe Di with a calm demeanor. He had seen many people like Joe Di before—in fact, he himself was such a person.
When your cultivation reaches a certain level, fear and apprehension simply cease to exist. All that's left in your eyes is one word: confidence.
"Let me ask you one last time—where are my friends?" Joe Di had been restraining himself from taking action, not because of Emperor Xander, but for the sake of Zhong Ao, Garrett, and the others.
Emperor Xander sneered and reached out to grab Joe Di, too impatient to waste words. It wasn't that he underestimated Joe Di—at his level, even if a Creation Realm cultivator came, he could crush them with his domain.
But Emperor Xander's hand had only extended halfway when the laws of heaven and earth around them suddenly froze. In that instant, Emperor Xander felt all his divine arts and techniques lose their power, as if his sea of consciousness had collapsed and his foundation shattered, rendering him a cripple.
Emperor Xander was terrified—this wasn't right. He could clearly sense that his sea of consciousness was intact, and even his Dao foundation was unharmed. So what was going on...?
Just as Emperor Xander was thinking this, he felt a palm strike descend upon him.
Smack! Emperor Xander's face was nearly obliterated by the blow. Completely unable to control himself, he was sent flying out of his seat and crashed onto the center of the grand hall.
When Emperor Xander opened his eyes again in shock, he saw Joe Di already seated in the chair he had just occupied.
"You..." Emperor Xander uttered a single word in terror. Not only had he never seen such power before—he hadn't even heard of anyone reaching Joe Di's level, nor imagined it was possible.
Joe Di said coldly, "The reason you can't perceive my strength is simply because your own is lacking. I don't need to ask you where my friends are—I can open your world and see for myself."
When a cultivator's world is forcibly opened, that cultivator is essentially crippled. The reason Joe Di hadn't taken action to break open Emperor Xander's world was, first, because he bore no great enmity toward him; and second, because a genius like Emperor Xander could be of benefit to the Five Elements Universe.
Now that Emperor Xander refused to answer his question, Joe Di saw no reason to hold back.
"Senior, they are completely unharmed..." Emperor Xander said urgently, then waved his hand to summon four shadows.
Since he began cultivating, Emperor Xander had never pleaded like this before. Now, from the depths of his soul, he wanted nothing more than to beg Joe Di to spare him.
Previously, he thought he had everything under control and paid no heed to others. But now, realizing he was nothing more than an ant before Joe Di, he understood that the matter he'd gotten involved in had nothing to do with him—he had simply been led astray by Jaden Dai and Xavier Huen.
"Big Brother..." Sprout was the first to spot Joe Di, and was so overjoyed he nearly burst into tears.
Blackfire, Garrett, and Zhong Ao also saw Joe Di, and all of them rushed over, unable to contain their excitement.
Seeing that Zhong Ao and the others were completely unharmed, not even having their belongings searched, Joe Di finally breathed a sigh of relief. His killing intent toward Emperor Xander diminished considerably.
"You really haven't made much progress, have you? After all these years, you're still just a second-rank Divine Tree Fiend."
Joe Di glared at Sprout, then turned to Blackfire with a gentle smile. "Not bad—you've reached the fifth rank already."
Sprout looked at Blackfire with a sense of grievance, thinking to himself that Big Brother was clearly biased. He was sure he'd worked even harder than Blackfire over the years, but what could he do? His talent was terrible. If Blackfire hadn't given him so many resources, he wouldn't even have reached the second-rank Divine Tree Fiend, let alone any higher.
"Haha, Brother Joe Di, you've saved me yet again!" Zhong Ao laughed heartily and sat down beside Joe Di without hesitation.
Joe Di also laughed. "Old Zhong, how did you end up getting trapped in someone's world again?"
The first time Joe Di met Zhong Ao, Zhong Ao had been captured by Zach You and imprisoned inside the River Mountain Vessel to suppress the Sacred Yin Pearl. This time, Zach You had been captured by Emperor Xander and trapped in his world.
Zhong Ao's face flushed red. After so many years apart, he'd wanted to show off a bit upon seeing Joe Di again, but once more, he'd ended up needing Joe Di to rescue him from someone else's world. He'd lost all dignity.
"Brother Jiu, after all these years, we've finally reunited." Garrett was the most excited to see Joe Di.
To him, there was only one family and friend in the world—Joe Di. Without Joe Di, Garrett wouldn't exist.
Joe Di patted Garrett's shoulder. "You've done well—being able to achieve Dao transformation in such a short time far exceeded my expectations."
"It's all thanks to you, Brother Jiu. Otherwise, I never would have reached this level on my own." Garrett knew very well that if Joe Di hadn't opened up the starry sky meridians for him and given him such great cultivation techniques, with his own talent and resources, he wouldn't have achieved Dao transformation—he might not even be an Immortal now.
Joe Di chatted with Zhong Ao, Garrett, and the others as if no one else were present. The atmosphere in the grand hall was eerily tense, yet not a single person dared to leave.
Jaden Dai's expression shifted repeatedly. He wanted to sneak away countless times, but didn't dare. With Joe Di's level of power, escaping was nothing but a pipe dream.
After talking with Zhong Ao and the others, Joe Di finally turned his gaze to Emperor Xander. "Are you really the top genius of the Dao Domain? I have my doubts."
Emperor Xander's face was a bit pale. He bowed to Joe Di, "Senior Di, I failed to recognize your greatness. I was simply trying to help some fellow cultivators from the Dao Domain, relying on my own strength and not questioning right or wrong. But I truly never intended to harm your friends. I only wanted to resolve this matter with my own power and remind everyone that, as cultivators of the Dao Domain, we should unite as one..."
Joe Di didn't doubt Emperor Xander's words, since he hadn't sensed any killing intent from him upon arrival—he'd only wanted to teach him a lesson, perhaps at the urging of Jaden Dai and Xavier Huen. The fact that Zhong Ao and the others were unharmed in his world was proof enough.
But one thing was certain—if Emperor Xander had succeeded in teaching him a lesson, Joe Di would never have left here alive. If Emperor Xander had managed to suppress him, and Jaden Dai didn't kill him, then Joe Di would have truly misjudged the situation.
Joe Di snorted coldly. "If you had even a hint of killing intent, do you think you'd still be alive right now?"
Zhong Ao chuckled, "Back then, I was ambushed by Zach You and imprisoned in the River Mountain Vessel—that was my own carelessness. Emperor Xander's talent truly surpasses mine; among the Ten Dao Prodigies, he's always been an outlier. So, being caught by him doesn't bother me. To be fair, Emperor Xander never intended to kill me. If I didn't know you, he probably wouldn't have locked me up at all."
Emperor Xander cast a grateful glance at Zhong Ao. He had always been proud and rarely spoke to the other nine prodigies among the Ten Dao Prodigies. Still, when the other prodigies sought his help, he would lend a hand—that was his lofty attitude.
Joe Di looked at Emperor Xander and said calmly, "If you stay here cultivating, even after a hundred million years you'll only be a slightly stronger ant. If you want to become truly powerful, you must leave this place."
Emperor Xander could be a valuable ally—provided he goes out into the vast chaos to temper himself. Otherwise, he won't be of much help in the future.
Hearing Joe Di's words, Emperor Xander quickly bowed in respect, sensing that Joe Di had no intention of killing him.
Joe Di's gaze fell on Jaden Dai. "You're quite the escape artist. Back in the Dao Domain, I couldn't catch you. Today, you knew I was coming, yet you didn't run—now that surprised me."
Jaden Dai was cursing inwardly. If he'd known Emperor Xander was just a paper tiger, he would have left long ago. Now he wanted to leave, but escaping was easier said than done.
"Senior Di, I failed to recognize your greatness. Please..."
Seeing Joe Di spare even Emperor Xander, Jaden Dai felt a sliver of hope. He wished Joe Di would see him as a mere ant, unworthy of killing.
Joe Di chuckled and raised his hand to strike. "I can spare others, but you shouldn't even think about reincarnation."
Boom! A cloud of blood mist exploded as Joe Di tore open Jaden Dai's world, instantly sweeping away everything within it.
To instantly open the world of a Third Step cultivator? Even Emperor Xander was stunned—this technique far surpassed his understanding of the Dao.
(That's all for today's update, friends. Good night!)