"I was chased here by a fiend beast, and now I can't tell east from west. Could you tell me which way to the Lethe Mountains?" Joe Di's main reason for returning to Earth was to search for Master Redmond, and to find that bridge. He didn't truly want to ask about the location of the Lethe Mountains; rather, he wanted to confirm whether this place was Earth.
"No wonder. But if you want to reach Lethe, you must first leave the Infinite Perimeter. Sometimes, advanced fiend beasts appear in the Infinite Perimeter. It's dangerous to be here alone..." The tall man had just finished speaking when a distant roar echoed through the air.
A dazzling beam of light shot into the sky. The man carrying a longbow said urgently, "It's a message from Brother Ji! Let's hurry over and help—there's a great beast!"
"Just keep heading this way and you'll see the supply station. Once you reach it, ask someone there." The man with the long spear quickly gave Joe Di directions, then dashed into the distant forest alongside the man with the longbow.
Joe Di didn't move. He took out a red Firegod Herb and swallowed it, then sipped some Spirit Marrow Essence. Tossing a pile of high-grade spirit stones beside him, he began circulating his Spiritual Sense to restore his Spiritual Sea.
His Spiritual Sea had been injured during his voyage through the void. If it were an ordinary cultivator, it would take ten or twenty years to recover. But with the Firegod Herb and Spirit Marrow Essence, Joe Di's Spiritual Sense was restored much faster.
In just a few breaths, Joe Di's Spiritual Sense extended a kilometer outward. Once his Spiritual Sense began to recover, aided by the Firegod Herb and Spirit Marrow Essence, the process accelerated.
Within half a day, Joe Di's Spiritual Sense was nearly fully restored.
Sweeping his Spiritual Sense outward, he quickly spotted the two men he'd met earlier. Now joined by another man and woman, the four were desperately fleeing, pursued by a peak second-tier fiend beast—a wolf beast. All four were covered in wounds, and the wolf beast itself seemed badly injured as well.
Seeing the four about to be killed by the wolf beast's claws, Joe Di shook his head and raised his hand, sending out a wind blade. These ordinary martial artists, trying to fight a wolf beast equivalent to a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator—were they courting death?
The wind blade sliced through several kilometers, cleanly severing the wolf beast's head.
Blood sprayed high into the air, splattering onto the four. Instinctively, they turned around, only to see the headless wolf beast collapse to the ground.
The four stared in shock at the bizarre scene, then their faces lit up with joy.
They'd struck gold—no doubt about it. Killing a wolf beast king meant unimaginable wealth.
Joe Di ignored the four ecstatic men. His Spiritual Sense swept the depths of the forest, and to his shock, he found a third-tier fiend beast—a Glass Fox—lurking farther away. The Glass Fox's gaze was fixed on the four handling the wolf beast.
Joe Di was certain that if he hadn't intervened, once he left, those four would have met disaster.
"It's the Fox Fiend King from the Infinite Thousand-Mile Peaks..." Seeing the Fox Fiend King swoop down from above, the four were filled with despair, abandoning all hope of survival.
Legend had it that the Fox Fiend King once slaughtered ten Innate Stage warriors, leaving only one survivor in the Infinite Thousand-Mile Peaks, who relied on defensive walls and hot weapons to hold the beast at bay.
"Pfft!" Another spray of blood erupted as the Fox Fiend King, still airborne, crashed down atop the dead wolf beast—lifeless as well.
Recovering from their shock, the four looked at the dead Fox Fiend King, and a chill ran down their spines. Their excitement over newfound wealth vanished in an instant.
This...
At that moment, Joe Di's voice reached their ears: "Don't worry, I killed both the wolf beast and the Fox Fiend King. Thanks for showing me the way. If fate allows, we'll meet again..."
As he said the words 'meet again,' his voice faded completely. Joe Di was certain that fiend beasts from Celestia had arrived on Earth; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many top-tier fiend beasts here. The strongest beast detected by his Spiritual Sense was nearly fifth-tier—on the brink of a breakthrough.
A fifth-tier fiend beast could wipe out all life on Earth. Unless a nuke destroyed it—but could a nuke even kill a fifth-tier fiend beast?
The tall man with the long spear shouted in excitement, "So that senior is truly formidable! Amazing, really amazing..."
Whether his vocabulary was limited or not, at this moment, 'amazing' perfectly captured his awe.
"Which senior?" the woman asked.
The tall man immediately recounted their encounter with Joe Di, sighing, "If I'd known how powerful that senior was, I should've asked to become his disciple."
......
Joe Di had already arrived in Dai City. He came here because he'd spotted two familiar faces—Echo Young and Felix Yu. What left Joe Di speechless was that Echo Young and Felix Yu seemed to belong to opposing factions; judging by the tense atmosphere at the negotiation table, a fight could break out at any moment.
"Echo Young, Fox, what's going on here?" Joe Di walked into the luxurious conference hall, smiling.
Several burly guards stared in surprise at Joe Di's sudden appearance. None of them had noticed how he'd gotten past them.
"Brother Joe..."
"Joe?"
Echo Young and Felix Yu stood up at the same time. The people on both sides who'd tried to block Joe Di backed off when they saw their leaders recognized him.
"What's going on? Don't you know you're both my friends?" Joe Di asked.
But as soon as Joe Di finished asking, he sensed something was off. After calling out to Joe, Felix Yu sat back down, while Echo Young stepped out from his seat and approached Joe Di.
"Brother Joe, I always thought you went to Celestia. After Celestia disappeared, I was really worried. I can't believe you're still on Earth—it's such a relief. Brother Joe, I have something important to tell you." Echo Young's joy was heartfelt.
Joe Di patted Echo Young's shoulder, signaling him to wait, then turned to Felix Yu and said, "Fox, why are you acting so distant?"
Felix Yu hesitated, then said, "Joe, I never could've gotten into the Martial Academy without you. I've never repaid that favor, and I'm sorry."
Joe Di waved his hand dismissively. "That's no big deal. You know how close Echo Young and I are."
Felix Yu said hoarsely, "I know. But Echo Young imprisoned my wife's brother and even killed more than ten of my brothers. How could I not seek revenge?"
"Lena Teng has a brother?" Joe Di asked in confusion. He couldn't recall Lena Teng ever mentioning a brother.
Echo Young pointed at Felix Yu and said to Joe Di, "This scum abandoned Lena Teng. Lena Teng was killed by his current woman. Before she died, Lena Teng sent word asking you to save her, but the message reached me instead. By the time I arrived, Lena Teng was already dead. This scum also schemed against Big Brother Keith and tortured Sister Jinshan until she was barely human—all for the Di Family Seven Blades..."
Joe Di's expression darkened. The Di Family Seven Blades technique was something he'd taught to both Big Brother Keith and Echo Young. It seemed Echo Young's presence here was tied not only to Felix Yu's wife's brother, but also to the Di Family Seven Blades.
"Joe, for your sake, I won't go after Echo Young. As long as he hands over Jade Xun's brother, I'll let this go..."
Before Felix Yu could finish, a cold voice rang out and a woman stepped forward. "You killed my Xun family member and imprisoned my brother. If this ends so easily, that's far too simple."
Joe Di had already swept the conference hall and sensed the woman in the room behind. She looked about thirty, strikingly beautiful, with phoenix eyes that hinted at a ruthless, decisive nature.
If it were anyone else, Joe Di would've sent a few wind blades flying—there'd be no need for all this talk.
He ignored the woman and focused on Felix Yu: "Fox, when you entered the Martial Academy, you were an upright man. I remember you said you'd repay my kindness and support me with all your strength after graduation. But now you've killed Lena Teng and Big Brother Keith. Tell me, why?"
Joe Di owed Big Brother Keith a debt of gratitude—without Keith's Daxing Sect records, Joe might've died several times over. If Felix Yu really killed Big Brother Keith for the Di Family Seven Blades, Joe could only avenge him.
A trace of guilt flashed in Felix Yu's eyes. He hadn't wanted things to turn out this way, but sometimes you lose control. Once you cross a line, it's easier to cross it again. Especially now, with Celestia gone, fiend beasts appearing on Earth, and the number of strong cultivators rising—many things were out of his hands.
But that moment of guilt quickly vanished. Felix Yu looked up at Joe Di. "Joe, you wouldn't understand, and I won't explain. As long as you stick with me, we're still friends. If I have food, you'll have food too."