Zoe Shen walked over and sat down opposite Joe Di on a stone tile. Looking at him, she asked softly, "Was it you who brought the Scarletblood Flower to the hospital and gave it to me?"
Joe Di nodded, "That's right, it was me."
The Scarletblood Flower isn't meant to be taken directly, but Joe Di couldn't be bothered to explain.
"I'm sorry, I only found out about this later." Zoe Shen let out a sigh. Although she had guessed that Joe Di was the one who saved her, hearing it from him made her even more grateful. Without Joe Di, there would have been no Zoe Shen in this world.
After a pause, she continued, "Thank you. If it weren't for you, I would have died long ago."
Joe Di smiled faintly, "It's nothing. You paid me for it."
To Joe Di, this matter was hardly worth mentioning. First, it was his past life who loved Zoe Shen, and second, he wasn't the one who found the Scarletblood Flower...
Thinking of this, Joe Di suddenly felt a strange sense of displacement. Was the body he saw truly his former self? If the Lethe Bridge hadn't appeared here, he wouldn't have felt this way. But now that the Lethe Bridge was here, maybe it was just an illusion brought on by it.
Could it be that the Lethe Bridge gave him this feeling of seeing his past life, and left behind some memories for him?
Joe Di's divine sense swept out immediately. When it fell upon the place where he had buried his former body's remains, he was startled. The spot was empty—nothing was there.
Zoe Shen lowered her head. The money she gave Joe Di probably wasn't even enough to buy a single root of the Scarletblood Flower.
"Zimo, do you think the gap between us is too great, so you didn't want to look for me?" Zoe Shen asked Joe Di with some guilt.
Too great a gap with you? Joe Di was taken aback and stopped his wandering thoughts. He quickly understood what Zoe Shen meant. She must truly be an Innate Stage expert now, likely a leader in her own right on Earth. Just seeing how the people who came down with her were standing far outside the ruins, he could tell her status was high.
"No." Joe Di smiled and shook his head. "It's just that we're too far apart now. Also, I go by Joe Di now—I remember telling you that."
Joe Di was telling the truth. He was in the Central Realm; coming to Earth was no simple matter. Even getting two Realmshatter Talismans was pure luck. Besides, he had no feelings for Zoe Shen at all.
Zoe Shen sighed and looked straight at Joe Di. "That's true, but this distance is something you created yourself. I gave you a ticket to the Martial Arts Academy—why didn't you use it? Since you listened to Elder Hongchen and risked your life to find the Scarletblood Flower for me, why couldn't you endure a little hardship at the Martial Arts Academy?"
There was one thing Zoe Shen hadn't said: if Joe Di had gone to the Martial Arts Academy, even if he wasn't as strong as her now, as long as he followed in her footsteps, the gap between them would have narrowed considerably. She didn't love Joe Di, but if she had to choose someone to spend her life with, she would choose him.
Hearing about that admission ticket, Joe Di felt a pang of guilt—not toward Zoe Shen, but toward Keith Fei. If he hadn't given a ticket to Felix Yu, maybe Felix wouldn't have changed, and Keith Fei might not have died.
Even though Sherry Shi had recovered thanks to his treatment and had started cultivating with Echo Young, Joe Di still regretted giving the Martial Arts Academy ticket to Felix Yu.
Joe Di stood up, feeling a bit dispirited. "I'm leaving."
This was never a place he was meant to stay. He planned to wipe out all the fiend beasts above level two on Earth, and then leave.
When his strength grew even greater, he would return to Lethe Temple.
Zoe Shen also stood up and gazed at Joe Di. "I've said before—I won't marry anyone else in this life. Thank you for saving me, but I have more important things to do now. When I've finished them all, I'll come find you. Though I've never fallen in love with you, I'm willing to leave you a child."
Zoe Shen wasn't saying this lightly; she'd thought it over for a long time. Joe Di's love for her was wild, but she really felt nothing for him. To save her, Joe Di risked his life searching for the Scarletblood Flower. So once she had destroyed those major fiend beasts, she would leave Joe Di a child and then leave him.
Given the current situation, for an Innate Stage expert to leave a child with an ordinary man like Joe Di, it would be a huge event worldwide.
Joe Di looked at Zoe Shen in surprise. "But you just said you don't love me, and yet you..."
"I know you've never been able to forget me. I just hope you won't come alone to the Lethe Mountains again. It's far too dangerous here. I'm not saying this on a whim—I've thought about it for a long time. Consider it repayment for saving my life." Having reached her current level, Zoe Shen was eager to seek out the mysteries beyond the Innate Stage. This was also why she'd lightly reproached Joe Di earlier, asking why he hadn't gone to the Martial Arts Academy.
So spending a lifetime with an ordinary man like Joe Di was simply unrealistic. Giving him a child would at least give him some company. Maybe one day, when she grew old, she would return. But by then, Joe Di would no longer be around, since after reaching the Innate Stage, her lifespan was already two hundred years. She didn't tell Joe Di any of this; it was one reason she couldn't be with him.
Joe Di quickly raised his hand to stop Zoe Shen. "Zoe Shen, I think there's a misunderstanding between us. Well... a long time ago, or maybe it was my past self—let's just say my past life. Maybe I liked you back then, but that's all in the past. Now I have my own things to do. I just happened to pass by here... I saved your life, and you paid me, so we're even. Let's leave the past behind and look forward."
After saying this, Joe Di smiled and gave Zoe Shen a martial salute before saying, "I'm leaving. In the future... well, I guess it's unlikely we'll meet again. Take care of yourself."
After saying 'take care,' Joe Di had already left the ruins of Lethe Temple, quickly disappearing into the distance. By the time Zoe Shen came to her senses, Joe Di's figure had vanished without a trace.
Zoe Shen hurried a few steps, but all she saw was the wind rustling through the wild grass—there was no sign of Joe Di anywhere.
Given the current situation, for an Innate Stage expert* to leave a child with an ordinary man like Joe Di, it would be a huge event worldwide.
*Footnote: In Xianxia cultivation, the 'Innate Stage' (先天) refers to a realm where practitioners transcend ordinary human limits, often gaining enhanced longevity, strength, and abilities far beyond mortals.
After a long while, Zoe Shen finally came back to herself and said to the people who had come with her, "Take up your weapons and spread out a bit, in case the Rouge Tiger tries to ambush us."
If Joe Di knew that Zoe Shen had come to investigate the level four Rouge Tiger, he'd be speechless. If he hadn't already killed the Rouge Tiger, Zoe Shen, with her cultivation, would basically be walking into danger.
"Captain Shen, I found a fiend beast corpse—it's a wolf fiend. Judging by its teeth, it's probably level two..." After entering the Lethe Mountains, someone soon discovered a fiend beast that Joe Di had slain.
"I've got one here too..." a second voice called out from farther away.
Zoe Shen stopped in her tracks, as if she hadn't heard anyone else. She was stunned, staring at the Rouge Tiger at her feet, its head cleaved off. For a long time, she couldn't utter a single word.
She recalled the message she had received last night: the Fox Fiend King of Infinite Thousand-Mile Peaks had its head severed by a single sharp blade, and now the Rouge Tiger had met the same fate.
Not only did this person casually slay level three and four fiend beasts, but they didn't even bother to take the priceless beast materials. Suddenly, she felt a powerful urge to find out who this expert that killed the Rouge Tiger really was.
"Captain Shen, I think this fiend beast was killed not too long ago... Ah, the Rouge Tiger..." The man who had discovered the second-rank wolf fiend, not hearing Zoe Shen's reply, simply dragged the wolf fiend over. Then he saw the corpse of the Rouge Tiger.
Not too long ago? Zoe Shen suddenly turned and dashed out at full speed. She had to catch up with Joe Di and get to the bottom of this.
Joe Di was even able to find the Crimson Blood Flower, which meant he must be quite familiar with Monk Hongchen. If that was the case, how could she know whether Joe Di had inherited true cultivation techniques from Monk Hongchen?
If Joe Di really had learned cultivation methods, then what was so strange about him killing these fiend beasts? The more Zoe Shen thought about it, the more likely it seemed. If Joe Di didn't have real skill, would he dare come alone to the Lethe Mountains and stay at Lethe Monastery?
...
Joe Di was deep within the Amazonian jungle. After making a circuit and slaying every fiend beast above rank two on Earth, he remained here to restore his spiritual sea.
A day later, Joe Di’s spiritual sea had fully recovered, and he was ready to leave Earth.
Joe Di summoned and activated the Realmshatter Talisman. A spatial rift appeared before him. With prior experience, Joe Di didn’t hesitate—he plunged straight into the rift, his divine sense spreading out like a tidal wave.