No matter what means Joe Di tried, he could not rescue the Golden Principle from within the terrifying cosmic-level Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array.
Fortunately, this Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array was missing the Fire Origin Pearl. Without it, the array was billions of times weaker than its original form.
For example, imagine a five-sided iron box ten zhang thick. If you filled it with water, and there was no external force, it would be nearly impossible to get the water out. But if one side of the box was missing, the water would be visible at once.
Even if there was just a pea-sized hole, the five-element iron box would not be able to hold water.
In other words, if the Fire Origin Pearl were present, the Golden Principle would not be able to send a distress message to Joe Di. It was precisely because of this that Joe Di could enter the center of the Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array through the Fire Element position.
Joe Di's original plan was to set up a Fire-Attracting Array, drawing away all fire-attribute energy from the Fire Element position. As long as he could do that, the Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array would have a flaw.
Now, seeing that both Blackfire and Blackfire's flame companion, as well as his own Dao Fire and Void Ashflame, could wildly absorb the Fire Origin from the Fire Element position, he abandoned the idea of arranging the Fire-Attracting Array.
Since that was the case, he let these companions absorb the Fire Origin here as much as they wanted, or he could cultivate by absorbing the Fire Origin energy himself.
Joe Di acted as soon as he thought of it. He wasn't a flame body and didn't possess Blackfire's heaven-defying talent, so he could only follow behind and absorb the Fire Origin energy.
Joe Di didn't know what his spiritual root truly was, but he could absorb any attribute of elemental energy, including thunder and ice origins.
As Joe Di entered the Fire Element position to absorb the Fire Origin for cultivation, he was immediately delighted. No wonder Blackfire and Dao Flame were rushing madly inside, even though there was no Fire Origin Pearl here. The Fire Origin energy was the purest and its rules the clearest, and Joe Di vaguely sensed that the Fire Origin aura here surpassed that of the Immortal Realm, as if it was of a higher grade.
In less than a month, Joe Di broke through the third layer of Immortal Lord and stepped into the fourth layer.
Originally, Joe Di was lagging behind, but now he was at the forefront. The Fire Element position that had previously blocked his entry had become his best spiritual energy source for cultivation.
Even the boss was competing for Fire Origin here, so Dao Flame and Blackfire certainly weren’t going to hold back.
Another two months passed. When Joe Di charged into the fifth layer of Immortal Lord, Dao Flame advanced to the eighth grade of Immortal Flame, Void Gray Flame reached the sixth grade of Immortal Flame, and Blackfire once again faced a lightning tribulation, stepping into the ranks of fifth-grade Immortal Fiend Beast. Blackfire’s Green Form also reached the sixth grade of Immortal Flame.
In the distance, the aura of the trapped Golden Principle grew dispirited. Joe Di had been invited to help, but now, instead, he and his companions were madly absorbing Fire Origin for cultivation, leaving the Golden Principle completely aside.
"Boss, the Fire Origin is gone." Joe Di felt his cultivation speed suddenly drop, and Blackfire’s voice came just in time.
Joe Di sensed it too—the pure, rule-defined Fire Origin energy had vanished without a trace. Though the surrounding air still held fire elemental energy, it was no longer connected to the Origin.
Yet Joe Di felt no disappointment; instead, he was ecstatic.
The reason the Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array was so formidable was that its foundation lay in the elemental origins. Most people couldn’t provide such an array base, and even if they could, they lacked the ability to set up the Sealing Array.
Now, with the Fire Origin Pearl gone and even the Fire Origin itself absorbed by Joe Di and his companions, a breach had been thoroughly opened in the Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array.
Previously, he needed Blackfire to tear open the void to get inside, but now Joe Di could enter without Blackfire’s help.
He could now rescue the Golden Principle. Just as Joe Di thought this, the Golden Principle sent him a message of delight—the Dao pattern restraints on its body began to loosen, and it could now struggle with full force.
The Golden Principle hadn’t resisted yet, waiting for Joe Di to act together with it.
Joe Di sent a message to the Golden Principle, and after agreeing on the timing, they simultaneously began tearing away the various Dao pattern restraints binding the Golden Principle.
"Crack! Crack!" After hundreds of crackling sounds, the Dao pattern restraints on the Golden Principle’s body shattered one after another, but seven or eight stubborn restraints remained.
The Golden Principle was the progenitor of cosmic principles. It immediately sent Joe Di a message: Though the Fire Element base of the Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array was gone, with Joe Di’s current strength, it would still take at least a hundred years to fully remove the Dao pattern restraints on its body. The reason was that residual fire element lingered in the void, and even though it was faint, it kept the array’s strength intact.
Unless Joe Di could remove another elemental array base, the array’s power would persist.
Joe Di frowned. Who could predict what might happen in a hundred years? Even Mo Yu Xuan couldn’t wait that long. Besides, with so much time, who could guarantee the powerful cultivator who left this grand array wouldn’t return? If that expert showed up, Joe Di wouldn’t stand a chance.
While Joe Di was hesitating, the Golden Principle sent another message: There was a World Tree Branch within the Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array. The Cauldron Joe Di carried was forged from the World Tree. If he took out the Cauldron, the World Tree Branch would likely struggle madly to break free and seek out the Cauldron.
The World Tree was the primordial tree that opened up the cosmos. It had been used as an array base only because its true form had been torn to pieces. Such a primordial tree would never willingly serve as an array base.
Joe Di trusted the Golden Principle’s judgment and immediately took out the Cauldron. He had no choice; the Golden Principle knew exactly what he carried.
Just as the Golden Principle predicted, as soon as the Cauldron was revealed, the Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array began to tremble violently, and even the Dao pattern restraints on the Golden Principle started to shake.
With the Cauldron as a guide, Joe Di quickly located the World Tree Branch. A foot-long green branch struggled in the void, seemingly trying to rush toward Joe Di. Yet the Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array not only sealed the principles—it also locked the five elements.
At this moment, Joe Di deeply admired the one who had taken the Fire Origin Pearl. That person was truly heaven-defying. After all, taking the Fire Origin Pearl when the array had no weakness was utterly different from taking the World Tree Branch now that an element was missing.
The only thing Joe Di couldn’t understand was why, after taking the Fire Origin Pearl, that person didn’t take all the other elemental treasures as well.
Faced with this Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array—even missing the Fire Element position—Joe Di could only wait for the World Tree Branch to break free. He was powerless to intervene.
If he dared approach any of the Metal, Wood, Water, or Earth positions, he would be killed instantly by the array’s force.
A faint Dao principle aura drifted over, and Joe Di comprehended many foundational laws. He easily understood its meaning.
The aura clearly came from the struggling World Tree Branch, pleading for Joe Di to stop using the Cauldron to refine pills. Its longing was almost a beg.
Joe Di was shocked. No matter how heaven-defying the Cauldron was, no matter how primordial, it was still a wood-type artifact, and any wood would hate being constantly burned by fire.
Though he hadn’t forged the Cauldron himself, Joe Di felt a surge of guilt. He spoke loudly toward the position of the Wood Element array base in the Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array: "Joe Di promises, from now on, I will never use the Cauldron to refine pills again."
Joe Di didn’t swear an oath, but his word would never change. Through the Cauldron, he had gained profound insights and refined pills for so long; if possible in the future, he would help restore the Cauldron to its World Tree form.
This would be difficult, for he’d have to surpass the craftsman who forged the Cauldron before he could strip away its array restrictions.
After Joe Di declared he would no longer use the Cauldron for alchemy, he was startled to see the Wood Element array base erupt with a series of cracking sounds. The green branch exploded, leaving only a thumb-length fragment that shot into the Cauldron in Joe Di’s hand.
With the World Tree Branch destroyed, the Wood Elemental array base of the Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array collapsed completely.
Joe Di clearly saw the Dao pattern restraints on the Golden Principle shatter continuously. As the Golden Principle was about to break free, Joe Di moved first, grabbing the Cosmic Membrane Fragment that floated in the void and sending it into his storage ring.
"Crack!" The Golden Principle finally broke free of its bonds.
Before Joe Di could search for treasures like the Breath Soil and Five Element Divine Water, several beams of light around the Fivefold Elemental Sealing Array instantly vanished into the void.
Joe Di felt regret, but fortunately, he had acted quickly and seized the Cosmic Membrane Fragment, or else it too would have disappeared.
The Golden Principle didn’t flee but hovered before Joe Di.
Joe Di chuckled inwardly. He knew the Golden Principle still had its principles; since he had taken the Cosmic Membrane Fragment, the Golden Principle, even if it followed him, would remain attached to the item he now possessed.
The Golden Principle’s level was far too high for Joe Di to stop it, and he didn’t intend to. After sending a message to Tree Brother, he rushed toward the Wood Element position and began deploying array flags.
The World Tree Branch didn’t escape; it self-destructed. The area was now saturated with Wood Origin energy. Joe Di used array flags to bind the Wood Origin aura, then notified Tree Brother to come cultivate.