Joe Di even felt that when he had lost consciousness, the vital force that had been constantly drained from him, on the verge of dissipating entirely, suddenly stopped fading away.
In Joe Di's universe, the nearly withered World Tree instantly sensed the influx of vitality into Joe Di's body and ceased to be stripped away. The World Tree began to sway without wind, frantically absorbing the cosmic Dao energy around it. The vitality sent into Joe Di's body grew ever stronger. The World Tree itself no longer withered but gradually revived. This was all thanks to the immense and powerful cosmic Dao energy, which allowed the World Tree to recover rapidly.
Joe Di's hazy consciousness suddenly awakened. Feeling the vitality no longer slipping away and the World Tree's life force surging into his body, his heart was filled with joy.
He knew very well that the Dao resonance of his Three Grand Ways had finally crushed the resonance of the Life-and-Death Grand Way. At this moment, under the cyclical movement of the Dao Tree, the resonance of the Life-and-Death Grand Way was being stripped away.
Previously, he might have struggled against Jasper Bai, Owen Sander, and Raina Wen working together. Now, Joe Di was confident that even if all three joined forces, he could easily slay them. This was true confidence.
Joe Di's divine sense fell upon the World Tree, and he was filled with emotion. Although the World Tree came from the Five Elements Universe, it was like a second life to him. Fortunately, he had planted several cosmic Dao veins beside the World Tree, allowing it to persist until now.
Once vitality returned, Joe Di was not about to be polite. The momentum of the Dao surrounding the Dao Tree grew even stronger, with three Grand Way resonances encircling it in increasing grandeur. As the Dao cycled, the Life-and-Death Grand Way was stripped away and slowly merged into the Dao Tree's cycle. Joe Di was once again plunged into a new round of enlightenment.
Whether cultivators, ordinary people, or immortals who had transcended the mortal realm, all harbored great fear between life and death.
Joe Di seemed to sense that he had grasped a fleeting opportunity between life and death. Back when he, Emperor Ye, and Nick Ning constructed a new universe in the chaos, Zachary Zephyr had said their new universe lacked the Dao of Reincarnation.
Reincarnation, from a certain perspective, is the replacement of the Grand Way from life to death and then from death to life. If he could fully master the Life-and-Death Grand Way, would he still need Senior Zachary Zephyr to incarnate as the passage of reincarnation?
The answer was clear: he no longer needed it, for life and death were already under his control. Why rely on another’s Grand Way and life force to construct reincarnation?
“Be stripped away!” Joe Di uttered softly, and the Life-and-Death resonance surrounding the Dao Tree suddenly vanished, replaced by a new sprout on the Dao Tree.
The flow of the Grand Way around Joe Di became even smoother and stronger. In just a month, his Dao Tree gained a new aura of ultimate vitality. As this aura flourished, the sprout on the Dao Tree grew into a Dao Branch. Though not as thick as the other three, it was rapidly growing.
With every bit of growth in the new Dao Branch, Joe Di’s aura grew stronger. The Heaven-Earth energy within the Life-and-Death Gate had long been drawn to him, along with all the resonance of the Life-and-Death Grand Way.
To Joe Di’s amazement, when he turned around, he could still see a ripple-shaped array gate of life and death. He quickly understood why: normally, after leaving the Life-and-Death Gate, one would not be able to see it, due to the Life-and-Death Grand Way.
In the blink of an eye, several years passed. The resonance of the Grand Way around Joe Di gradually faded and then disappeared completely.
Joe Di opened his eyes. At this moment, the Fourth Dao Branch on his Dao Tree was already extremely thick, with Life-and-Death resonance flowing through it, like a vast and boundless world of chaos.
Joe Di breathed a slight sigh of relief. He sensed that his cultivation aura had reached the peak of the Fourth Step, just a step away from perfection.
What Joe Di cared about most was not the peak of the Fourth Step, but his deeper understanding of Dao and the divine realm. If he wished, he could enter seclusion for a period and break through to the Fifth Step without any bottleneck.
But Joe Di knew very well that doing so would bring him no benefit. In fact, stepping into the Fourth Step was already taking a shortcut; with three Dao Branches on his Dao Tree, his most stable cultivation should have been the Third Step, yet he had forced his way into the Fourth.
After stepping into the Fourth Step, his power soared—his divine essence, spiritual sense, and even his universe advanced by several levels.
Yet he was overspending the potential of his Grand Way. If he continued this way, he would never reach the summit of the Grand Way. What made him strong was not his Dao, but his raw power.
The growth of the Grand Way is not merely the growth of power.
Fortunately, not long after reaching the Fourth Step—and before his Grand Way had stabilized—he arrived at the Life-and-Death Gate. Using the Life-and-Death Grand Way, he added another branch to his Dao Tree. As this Fourth Dao Branch grew, his Dao stabilized completely, and his strength multiplied several times over.
Previously, he might have struggled against Jasper Bai, Owen Sander, and Raina Wen working together. Now, Joe Di was confident that even if all three joined forces, he could easily slay them. This was true confidence.
Regrettably, his Grand Way now had a slight flaw. This flaw arose from advancing to the Fourth Step before gaining and perfecting the Fourth Dao Branch, overspending his Dao’s potential. Even if that potential was replenished, some regret remained.
Joe Di soon set this regret aside. No one is perfect, and neither is any Dao. This was good enough.
The Life-and-Death Gate still contained remnants of Life-and-Death Grand Way resonance, but these no longer affected Joe Di in the slightest. He exhaled and sped forward.
Though he had spent several years here, Joe Di was not worried about Jasper Bai, Owen Sander, or the others. Even if they reached the Seventh Step, they posed no threat to him.
If he wished, he could achieve the Seventh Step like Owen Sander simply by entering seclusion and cultivating madly. After understanding the direction of his Dao and the meaning of the Dao Tree, Joe Di decided that unless he found the Fifth Dao Branch, he would not force his way into the Fifth Step.
This chapter isn't finished yet ^.^, please click the next page to continue reading!
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With his Rule Evasion technique, Joe Di took only half a day to break through the Life-and-Death Gate.
When the resonance of the Life-and-Death Grand Way around him vanished, Joe Di knew he must have escaped the Life-and-Death Gate. He thought that after he left, the Life-and-Death Gate would disappear.
To Joe Di’s amazement, when he turned around, he could still see a ripple-shaped array gate of life and death. He quickly understood why: normally, after leaving the Life-and-Death Gate, one would not be able to see it, due to the Life-and-Death Grand Way.
Now, the Life-and-Death Grand Way was merely a Dao Branch on his Dao Tree, so he could still see the Life-and-Death Gate and could even return the way he came.
The one who set up the Life-and-Death Gate never expected this. That person sought to seize others’ Grand Ways to perfect their own Dao Tree, but instead, their Life-and-Death Grand Way was stripped away. Joe Di knew without a doubt that he and the gate’s creator were now mortal enemies. If the other saw him, they would try to kill him instantly.
These thoughts flashed by and Joe Di didn’t dwell on them. He turned his gaze forward.
Joe Di had several guesses. After passing through the Life-and-Death Gate, it might be the other half of the Providence Gate, meaning this place could still be filled with top-tier heavenly materials and treasures. If so, he would stay and scavenge for a while. The second possibility was that he entered a chaotic space. The third and most likely possibility: after crossing the Life-and-Death Gate, he would arrive at a place governed by supreme cosmic laws, where he could comprehend higher-level Daos and realms never before attained.
He had been to chaotic space before and had constructed his Dao Tree there. Others couldn't survive in such chaos, but he feared nothing. If it turned out to be the second case, he would find a way to return to the Genesis Realm.
Stunned, Joe Di gazed at the scene before him—a starry sky stretched out to infinity, beyond the reach of both divine sense and naked eye.
His divine sense could even detect planets and meteorites scattered throughout the starry expanse. With his cultivation, Joe Di instantly sensed the presence of life. In other words, there were many life-bearing worlds within this starry sky.
Could he have returned to the starry skies outside the Five Elements Universe? No, it should be the starry skies beyond the Genesis Realm.
Excitement surged in Joe Di's heart. If he truly had returned, he would no longer need to search blindly in chaos. In fact, even if he spent countless years wandering in the chaos, he might never find his way back to the outer starry skies of the Genesis Realm.
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)