This was the first time Joe Di had heard such words, and although he wasn't deeply moved, he still found them rather peculiar.
Cassie Cao explained, "The saying 'Dao is not Dao, Man is not Man' doesn't hold any hidden meaning; it is meant quite literally. It means that those who truly cultivate the Dao are not pursuing the Dao we understand, and those true cultivators are, in fact, not human.
You should know that once, Dominic Du, myself, and even some great cultivators who obtained opportunities in the Genesis Universe, are not truly human in form. Instead, we are condensations of the Genesis Universe's essence, originally Dao bodies. Ordinary human cultivators cannot compare to us."
Originally, Joe Di didn't feel anything special about these words, but after Cassie Cao's explanation, he found them even stranger.
Cassie Cao continued, "'Pity us, for we suffer greatly' means that we, as human cultivators, struggle desperately in cultivation, but in the end, we are still looked down upon and controlled by those true Dao body cultivators, under their cosmic dominion. No matter how hard human cultivators train, they cannot surpass those Dao bodies born from the Genesis, nor those cultivators who were never truly human.
This is a kind of pity and lament for human cultivators. The reason I understand this truth is because, after my rebirth, I was born as a human cultivator in this universe."
Joe Di frowned, faintly sensing that there was more to these words, but perhaps his cultivation and understanding were not deep enough to fully grasp their meaning.
"Fellow Daoist Cao, if you were to find the missing half of your Genesis essence, and I step into the Third Step, what are our chances if we join forces against Dominic Du?" Joe Di finally voiced his concern.
Right now, his greatest worry was not anyone else, but Dominic Du, whom he had never met and only heard about.
Cassie Cao fell silent. After a full half a stick of incense, she finally said slowly, "No chance of victory."
Joe Di felt a sense of discomfort—Dominic Du was truly formidable. Could it be that even after stepping into the Third Step, he still wouldn't stand a chance against Dominic Du?
Perhaps sensing that Joe Di and Cassie Cao were talking too much, the tall burly man behind Joe Di raised his hand and tried to slap him. Even with his cultivation lost, Joe Di wasn't someone just anyone could hit. As the giant's palm swung toward him, Joe Di's body flashed aside, dodging the blow.
Missing his target, the burly man became furious. Just as he was about to attack again, a fierce battle cry erupted from the distance.
Four of them immediately rushed forward, while the remaining one grabbed Joe Di with one hand and Cassie Cao with the other, charging ahead.
Soon, Joe Di could see the scene ahead: two armies were locked in a frenzied battle on the battlefield. Blood mist filled the air, and people were constantly being slain.
Joe Di quickly estimated that there were at least tens of thousands fighting on this battlefield. He couldn't help but look down on these burly men—charging into a battle of thousands with just a few people, were they seeking death, or just seeking death?
Unfortunately, Joe Di had not yet constructed a complete Path of Rules, and couldn't understand the language here. Otherwise, he would have told this big fool to step back and wait until the battle was over.
"Pfft!" A stone arrow shot over from afar, piercing straight through the brow of the burly man holding Joe Di and Cassie Cao, spraying a burst of blood. The man collapsed, flinging Joe Di and Cassie Cao far away.
Joe Di quickly broke free from the ropes, and Cassie Cao didn't need his help—she freed herself at the first opportunity as well.
"Let's hurry and go. There are too many people here—if we get caught up in this, things could get ugly," Joe Di said. His physical body was strong, but there were simply too many people here, and he sensed that everyone seemed to possess immense strength. He wasn't afraid of numbers, but being caught in such a chaotic battlefield was never safe.
Cassie Cao sighed, "Why is this happening everywhere? People are always killing each other—'Pity us, for we suffer greatly...'"
This time, Joe Di didn't need to explain. Cassie Cao seemed to realize that the words she had grasped might hold another meaning as well.
"Hurry up, don't just stand here sighing. Just like how you chased me all over, yet you still have to hide from Dominic Du, don't you?" Seeing Cassie Cao sigh again, Joe Di couldn't help but retort. He thought, you don't have the ability, yet you insist on doing things beyond your capabilities.
Cassie Cao blushed slightly at Joe Di's words, then said, "Sorry, I really shouldn't have chased you. You're right, sometimes you can't just look at things on the surface."
Joe Di had already run far ahead, and Cassie Cao quickly followed him off the battlefield.
Although both Joe Di and Cassie Cao had lost their cultivation, they were still formidable, especially in terms of physical strength. With their speed, they quickly circled around the battlefield.
What appeared before them was a massive city. Rather than a city, it was more like a stone fortress—every visible part was made of stone. At the top of the stone city, several huge stone-carved characters were displayed, but unfortunately, Joe Di couldn't recognize any of them.
"Let's go, we'll enter the city." Joe Di pointed to the wide-open city gate in the distance.
Cassie Cao looked at Joe Di in confusion, "Of the two armies fighting earlier, one was clearly from this stone city. If the side representing the stone city lost, wouldn't we be captured again?"
There was one more thing she didn't say: if the stone city's side won, they would still end up as captives.
Joe Di chuckled, "If we get captured, so be it. I don't mind. If you do, you can leave first."
To Joe Di, it didn't matter who captured him. This stone city was crowded, and where there were crowds, the rules of heaven and earth were clearer—like writing, language, and so on. Only in places where the rules were clear could he quickly figure out the local language and script, and thus discover where he was.
Since Joe Di insisted on entering the city, Cassie Cao had no choice but to follow him into the stone city.
The stone city's gate was wide open, and everywhere were panicked people—running about or gathering to anxiously discuss something. Among them, there were no burly men or young people like Joe Di; they were likely all on the battlefield.
No one paid any attention to the arrival of Joe Di and Cassie Cao. Not everyone here was tall and strong, so the two of them didn't stand out much.
If Joe Di understood the local language, he would have liked to ask these people: since you think you can't win, why not close the city gates and defend from above instead?
Joe Di soon understood the situation: this city was more a stone wall than a real city. Aside from a few stone characters, there was nothing to defend with. The wall probably served more as psychological comfort than actual protection.
Walking among the crowd, Joe Di kept using his awareness to sense the laws of heaven and earth here. At the moment, he couldn't use his spiritual sense or divine essence, nor even communicate with his spiritual sea, so he could only use awareness to construct his foundational laws—though it was painfully slow.
Given that, he might as well focus on comprehending the basic laws here. The beginning is always the hardest—once he regained some spiritual sense and constructed his own laws, his recovery would accelerate.
Shrill screams and shouts echoed as countless people rushed into the city. Even though Joe Di couldn't understand their words, he could only sigh and say, "The soldiers of the stone city have lost; the enemy will soon take over this place."
One thing Joe Di couldn't understand was: since the stone city's army had lost, why didn't the people flee, but instead huddled in panic, waiting to be captured? And why were outsiders rushing into the city too—wasn't that crazy? Joe Di doubted they thought the same way he did.
In less than a stick of incense, a group of tall, wolf-like soldiers charged in.
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)