"Fellow Daoist, you must have heard of the Fivefold Dao Gathering, right?" the middle-aged man continued to ask.
Joe Di sensed that the man bore no ill intent, so he nodded, "Yes, I know of it. I was planning to check out the Fivefold Dao Gathering, and then try my luck at the Fivefold Dao Tower."
"Haha, then you're fortunate to have met me." The middle-aged man laughed heartily.
Seeing Joe Di still somewhat puzzled, the weathered middle-aged man explained, "You should know that this Fivefold Dao Gathering will draw nearly all the geniuses, right? Let me tell you, before the Fivefold Dao Tower opens, the Five Lords of the Sea List have declared that anyone who can find more than ten Firegod Herbs will be guaranteed entry as an inner disciple of the sect. If you find over a hundred Firegod Herbs, you can become a true disciple."
The Five Lords of the Sea List represent the Five Grand Sects. If you truly join one of the Five Grand Sects, or even become an inner disciple..."
The middle-aged man left the sentence unfinished, but Joe Di could easily guess what he meant.
Joe Di asked in confusion, "Fellow Daoist, aren't you at the Nascent Soul stage too? At that level, you'd be an inner disciple anywhere. Is entry into the Five Grand Sects really that strict?"
Joe Di's confusion was understandable. On the Aurora Continent, those at the Nascent Soul stage are considered supreme elders of a sect, sometimes even dominating the entire continent.
The middle-aged man sighed, "How could the inner disciples of other sects compare to those of the Five Grand Sects? The Five Grand Sects have five supreme cultivation sanctuaries that everyone is desperate to get into. Even if you speak of something less tangible, joining a Grand Sect at least gives you a chance to achieve True Transformation in the future. If you don't join, you can pretty much give up on the idea of reaching True Transformation."
You know the Dao Rankings, right? Over eighty percent of those on the Dao Rankings come from the Five Grand Sects or Destiny Isle. And at Snowmoon Mountain, the youngest Void Spirit Stage cultivator in a thousand years, Su Yuelan, emerged. She reached the Void Spirit Stage before sixty, and advanced to late Void Spirit Stage before a hundred. If the Skyveil had opened a few years earlier, she could have entered at the seventh level of the Void Spirit Stage."
"Is True Transformation really that difficult?" Joe Di asked instinctively.
True Transformation is difficult on the Aurora Continent, but in the Central Realm, there should be many Ascendants, right? Otherwise, how could the Central Realm be the foremost of the Five Cultivation Continents?
After asking, Joe Di realized he might have misspoken, so he added, "I mean, we have plenty of Ascendants in the Central Realm too."
In other words, if True Transformation is so difficult, there wouldn't be so many Ascendants around.
The middle-aged man gave Joe Di a speechless look. "You must be from some remote cultivation family, right? Maybe thousands of years ago, True Transformation wasn't so hard. But now, forget about reaching True Transformation—even stepping into the Lifetribulation Stage is nearly impossible. In the past thousand years, only three cultivators have become Ascendants, and all of them are from the Five Grand Sects. Most Ascendants we see now broke through earlier. Even Ascendants have limited lifespans, so the number of Ascendants in the Central Realm decreases every year."
Joe Di gave an awkward smile. The information he had came from his master, Quinn Windflower. But when did Quinn Windflower come to the Central Realm, and what era is it now?
"Forget about True Transformation—even for those of us at the Nascent Soul stage, advancing to the Void Spirit Stage is extremely unlikely," the Nascent Soul cultivator lamented.
"So what does the Firegod Herb actually do?" Joe Di asked again.
This time, the Nascent Soul cultivator shook his head. "I don't know either. All I know is that it gives us a chance to enter the Five Grand Sects. Including myself, I have three people here. If you're willing to join, we'll set out tomorrow. If not, I'll find someone else."
"I'm in," Joe Di replied without hesitation.
He couldn't return to Fivefold City anyway. For now, following this middle-aged cultivator to learn more about the Central Realm would be helpful. Otherwise, if he were ever hunted by a powerful enemy, he'd have nowhere to run.
"Alright, my name is Vaughn Che. May I ask, what should I call you, friend?" Upon hearing Joe Di's straightforward agreement, the Nascent Soul cultivator immediately responded.
"Joe Di." Joe Di cupped his fists, not hiding his name.
"Then we'll set out on time tomorrow," Vaughn Che said decisively.
"Heh, you've got guts. You dare take advantage of the Radiant Squad's recruitment post." A cold, sinister voice suddenly rang out.
A young cultivator, around the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage and dressed in red robes, looked at Joe Di and the middle-aged man with a mocking smile.
The middle-aged man's face darkened instantly, but before he could speak, Joe Di said, "I chose to team up with Vaughn on my own. How does that concern you?"
This guy was really overbearing. Just because he posted a recruitment message, did everyone who saw it have to join his team? Besides, Joe Di had already talked to Vaughn Che about Nightlake before even seeing that message.
"Fine. Fine." The red-robed cultivator said 'fine' twice, then turned and left.
Vaughn Che's face turned a bit pale. "We've stirred up serious trouble now," he said.
As long as it wasn't about the World Tome, nothing else really counted as serious trouble for Joe Di. He asked, not particularly concerned, "Vaughn, who was that guy? Is he a disciple of one of the Five Grand Sects?"
Vaughn Che pulled Joe Di aside and whispered, "That guy was from the Radiant Squad, just like us—hoping to use Firegod Herb to join the Five Grand Sects. His name is Shawn Ren, Soul Ancestor Stage, fourth level. He's not the real threat; his older brother, Rafael Ren, is a ninth-level Soul Ancestor. That group is notorious in Sunset City for their arrogance and for killing countless innocent cultivators. Sunset City is so desolate now, mostly because of them. I guarantee, as soon as we leave Sunset City, they'll block our way."
"What do you think, Vaughn?" Joe Di asked in turn. If Vaughn wanted to distance himself, Joe Di would leave Sunset City immediately. But if Vaughn was still willing to team up, he'd go with him to Nightlake. As for the Radiant Squad, Joe Di could handle them. He'd killed Void Spirit Stage cultivators before; a ninth-level Soul Ancestor didn't worry him.
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"Joe, this won't end peacefully. The Radiant Squad never lets grudges go. Let's leave Sunset City together now. If they chase us and we can't beat them, we can split up and escape." Vaughn quickly replied.
"Alright, I'll follow your lead," Joe Di said, giving Vaughn a friendly pat.
Vaughn was bold and straightforward—a real man. Since he was willing, they might as well team up.
After Joe Di followed Vaughn Che to their residence, he met the other three members. Liana Quing, a second-level Soul Ancestor Stage female cultivator, was plain-looking but cheerful and sweet-talking. She kept calling Joe Di "Big Brother Joe," though Joe guessed she was much older than him.
Ben Stone, third-level Soul Ancestor, was much younger than Vaughn Che. Tall and thin, he was the opposite of Liana—quiet and reserved.
Joe Di could tell the three were close. After Vaughn explained the situation, neither Liana Quing nor Ben Stone complained. Both immediately agreed with Vaughn's plan to leave Sunset City at once.
......
Almost as soon as the four left Sunset City, Rafael Ren received word in the seventh private room on the second floor of the Sunset City Guild.
Shawn Ren spoke with a vicious glint, "Big brother, let's go after them right now and finish them off."
Rafael Ren gave a cold smile. "I've never liked Vaughn Che and his lot. If they're looking for death, I won't be polite. But now isn't the time to finish them off."
"Why not?" Shawn Ren asked, puzzled.
Rafael Ren laughed, "They're obviously heading to Nightlake to look for Firegod Herb. Every Firegod Herb is dangerous. If they're willing to search for us, all the better."
"Ah... I get it now!" Shawn Ren exclaimed in delight.
He understood his brother's meaning: let Vaughn Che and the others find the Firegod Herb first, then kill them and take the herbs for themselves.
......
"Huh, that's odd. The Radiant Squad hasn't tried to intercept us at all." After traveling far from Sunset City with no sign of pursuit, Vaughn Che spoke in confusion.
"Brother Vaughn, I think they're hoping we'll help them find the Firegod Herb," Liana Quing said, sounding worried.
Vaughn Che snorted, "That's definitely it. But Nightlake is huge. If they're trying to play the long game, we won't let them get their way. Let's shorten our search for the Firegod Herb to just one month. If any one of us joins the Five Grand Sects, we won't have to fear Rafael Ren anymore."
"I'm just worried the Radiant Squad might join the Five Grand Sects before us," Liana Quing said.
Vaughn Che shook his head. "No need to worry about that. The Five Young Lords won't emerge from the Fivefold Dao Tower for at least a year, so everyone has the same chance. Rafael Ren isn't a disciple of the Five Grand Sects yet, and even if he was, so what? The Five Grand Sects can't control everything. At worst, we can head to Destiny Isle..."
"What's Destiny Isle? You mean even the Five Grand Sects can't go there to catch people?" Joe Di immediately caught the key point in Vaughn Che's words. It was the second time he'd heard Vaughn mention Destiny Isle.
Vaughn Che gave Joe Di a speechless look. "Joe, I really wonder if you're even from our Central Realm. The Destiny Pavilion on Destiny Isle is the only ten-star sect in the Central Realm. Ever heard of the Dao Rankings? The Destiny Pavilion maintains them. Rumor has it, they have monitoring arrays all over the Central Realm, though most people never notice. The Sunset City Guild is actually part of the Destiny Pavilion's business. Destiny Pavilion is the only place you can't provoke— not even the Five Grand Sects dare mess with them."
So powerful, Joe Di thought in amazement. He resolved that if he ever got hunted, he'd head straight for Destiny Isle.
......
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends! Happy birthday to Zifei Yu, a devoted reader of Ninth in the World!)