"Emperor Joe, Daoist Zhong has also left. Our Cauldron Haven is currently very weak, relying only on the defensive array..."
Miles Silent didn't finish his sentence, but Joe Di already understood what he meant—he was worried that Joe would leave too.
Joe Di was about to say he wouldn't be leaving for now, when he saw a fiery red flying sword approaching. Miles Silent caught the sword, swept his divine sense over it, and his expression changed.
Joe Di didn't even need to wait for Miles Silent to hand him the sword; he could already see the contents inside: a massive tide of void beasts was surging toward Cauldron Haven.
If no one was behind this, Joe Di would never have believed it.
Miles Silent had just uttered the words "The beast tide is coming," when countless streaks of light shot toward Cauldron Haven. Within Joe Di's divine sense, he could already catch glimpses of scattered beast shadows.
"City Lord Miles, the void beast tide is here..." Mona Chancy rushed over anxiously, and immediately saw Joe Di.
"Emperor Joe, you're back..." Upon seeing Joe Di's return, Mona Chancy was truly delighted.
Her Evermoon Tower was different from other merchant guilds—she only did business in Cauldron Haven. If Cauldron Haven was destroyed by the beast tide, everything she had in Evermoon Tower would be lost.
Joe Di's return greatly boosted her confidence. Though his cultivation might be much lower than hers, in her impression, Joe Di was not someone to provoke.
Back at the auction, several Immortal Emperors tried to provoke Joe Di, but in the end, Joe Di bought all the best items and the Immortal Emperors were powerless against him.
Later, she joined seven Immortal Emperors and more than ten Immortal Lords in seeking trouble for Joe Di at Peace Restaurant. If she hadn't coughed up blood to pay compensation, she wouldn't have dared to act, and Mona Chancy might not even exist in this world now. The downfall of the Newmoon Guild and the fate of Xiling Yuanyi, the Alliance Master of the Unbounded Immortal Sect, were clear warnings.
If these examples weren't enough to convince her that Joe Di was someone you couldn't provoke, then the bloody events at Radiant Lake Palace ten years ago were even more telling.
Joe Di was still here, and his cultivation was even stronger. Where was Radiant Lake Palace now? Where was Nate Shee, the number one expert of the Four Immortal Continents who ruled Radiant Lake Palace?
Joe Di nodded to Mona Chancy and Nate Shee, saying, "You both have Cauldron Haven's array flags. When the time comes, activate the Strangler Array flags and control Cauldron Haven's grand Strangler Array. I'll provide support from the side."
"Rest assured, Emperor Joe," Mona Chancy and Miles Silent answered in unison.
Joe Di began constructing array flags one after another. The advantage of his array flags was that they didn't require top-tier materials—just a deep understanding of basic laws.
One array flag after another was constructed by Joe Di, quickly forming a grand Strangler Array.
At this moment, scattered void beasts had already reached the outskirts of Cauldron Haven. Joe Di saw two void centipedes, and his heart grew heavy.
Both void centipedes were fifth-level immortal demon beasts, easily slain by two wind blades from Miles Silent. But at the edge of Joe Di's divine sense, there was a dense, endless horde of void demon beasts.
It wasn't just a flat wave, but a three-dimensional surge. No matter how strong the defensive array was, it would be useless against such a terrifying beast tide.
Joe Di started constructing Law Array Banners with lightning law attributes. Faced with endless void demon beasts, the best strategy was to keep them from approaching Cauldron Haven.
At this moment, even Mona Chancy and Miles Silent turned pale. This wasn't their first beast tide in Cauldron Haven—they'd both experienced it before.
But compared to this beast tide, what they'd faced before was nothing—at best, just a beast herd.
This was the real beast tide: endless demon beasts surging in from all directions. Under such a terrifying, dense wave, Cauldron Haven seemed doomed to destruction.
"Emperor Joe, I'm afraid we can't hold off such a terrifying beast tide..." Mona Chancy's face was pale.
She could even see ninth-level immortal demon beasts—and not just one.
A ninth-level immortal demon beast was equivalent to an Immortal Emperor. No matter how strong Cauldron Haven's defensive array was, it couldn't possibly withstand them.
Miles Silent's face was just as pale, his lips trembling.
They were certain that if these demon beasts engulfed Cauldron Haven, not even someone with Immortal Emperor cultivation could escape.
Several cultivators who were a bit slower and hadn't yet entered Cauldron Haven were swept up by the beast tide and instantly vanished without a trace.
Joe Di didn't even bother to speak, continuing to toss out array flags and construct Law Array Banners.
At the same time, Joe Di threw out twenty high-grade immortal spirit veins, including one high-grade lightning spirit vein. Not only did he set up the city's defensive array flags, but also the Starwater Banner, Terraflame Banner, and Cloudrealm Banner.
The reason the Azure Lotus Banner was brought out was because Joe Di hadn't refined it yet.
After Joe Di deployed three of the Five Element Banners, the city's defensive array was fully activated, as was the grand Strangler Array.
A faint light flowed around the outskirts of Cauldron Haven. Unlike the usual activation of the grand array, this faint flowing light carried a hint of azure fluctuation.
Boom! The endless void immortal demon beasts finally crashed into Cauldron Haven's defensive array, causing the entire city to tremble. The thick, bloody stench of the void made people nauseous.
Mona Chancy was already prepared to flee at any moment. As soon as the void beasts tore through the city's defenses, she would dash for the teleportation array and escape immediately.
Ordinary cultivators were already drenched in cold sweat. If Mona Chancy and Miles Silent still had a chance to escape, they had none at all.
Against such a terrifying void beast tide, Cauldron Haven's defensive array was certain to fail.
But in the next instant, everyone was stunned. A sky full of blood mist exploded in the void—endless demon beasts turned to blood mist hundreds of feet from Cauldron Haven's defensive array.
"What is this..." Mona Chancy, Miles Silent, and the others watched in awe as ring after ring of Strangler Array light erupted outward—even sixth-level immortal demon beasts couldn't withstand it.
Joe Di had modified Cauldron Haven's defensive array, but at the time, no one paid much attention. After all, it was still a ninth-level defensive array, and they thought Joe just wanted control over the city's defenses.
Only now did they realize how wrong their assumptions had been.
Although both were ninth-level immortal defensive arrays, the previous array and this one were worlds apart.
"Emperor Joe, I'm afraid Cauldron Haven is still in danger. All those coming up behind are seventh-level or higher void demon beasts..." Miles Silent's excitement lasted only a few breaths; when his divine sense swept over the endless horde of seventh-level and higher void immortal demon beasts, he nearly despaired.
No matter how powerful Joe Di's Strangler Array was, it couldn't stop so many seventh-level immortal demon beasts.
"Just focus on your own task," Joe Di said coldly, continuing to construct array flags and Law Array Banners without pause.
Miles Silent was more rational than Quentin Qu and knew how to protect himself, but Joe Di was certain that Miles Silent's achievements would never match Quentin Qu's—because he lacked a cultivator's true persistence.
Just as Miles Silent predicted, hundreds of thousands of seventh-level Void Twin-Horn Immortal Wolves, led by a dozen ninth-rank fiend beasts, charged straight through Joe Di's first Strangler Array and headed directly for Cauldron Haven's defensive array.
Mona Chancy instinctively retreated several steps. As a fourth-stage Immortal Emperor, any one of those powerful ninth-rank fiend beasts could kill her.
Boom boom boom! Dense arcs of lightning appeared out of nowhere, wave after wave. The seventh-level wolves at the front were blasted away, and those below seventh-level couldn't even get close.
So strong! Mona Chancy stopped in her tracks, stunned.
She was truly overwhelmed by Joe Di's strength. Up to this point, it was essentially Joe Di fighting alone. He was using the grand array, but he was also the one controlling it.
It wasn't that she and the others weren't helping—they simply couldn't. Not only were Cauldron Haven's cultivators far weaker than these void immortal demon beasts, but they were also vastly outnumbered.
Even if every cultivator in Cauldron Haven went out to fight, they'd barely be enough to fill the void beasts' teeth.
She was awestruck by Joe Di—not just by his strength, but also because, up to now, she hadn't seen how he was controlling the lightning arcs to attack.
Mona Chancy naturally couldn't understand the Law Array Banners Joe Di was deploying.
What shocked her and the other cultivators even more was that Joe Di actually charged out of Cauldron Haven's defensive array to face the endless void demon beasts head-on.
"What is Emperor Di trying to do?" Miles Silent hurriedly darted to Mona Chancy's side, his voice filled with urgency.
Mona Chancy shook her head; she was just as clueless.
Joe Di had no choice but to reveal himself. Time was running out, and even with the help of three Five Element Banners, the Thunderkill Immortal Array he had constructed was only a ninth-level immortal array. This ninth-level array was barely enough to handle eighth-level immortal beasts, but against those ninth-level immortal monsters, it was still far from sufficient.
If he had a bit more time, he could definitely set up an even higher-level Thunderkill Immortal Array. Unfortunately, time was not on his side. To make the Thunderkill Grand Array even more powerful, he had to enter it himself.
Seeing Joe Di dare to rush out from Cauldron Haven, several ninth-level immortal beasts let out furious roars and charged at him through the endless arcs of thunder.
Joe Di forced himself to remain calm. With a flick of his hand, the Primordial Thunderstone landed beneath his feet, and one thunder law array banner after another began to take shape.