Jason Silentwood nodded, "That's right. I also learned by chance that there are Ancient Array Sigils beneath Fenghorn Fortress. But even though we can see these ancient sigils, we still need to break them."
Boom! At almost the same moment, Joe Di's Dao resonance surged to a new level. Delighted, he opened his eyes, stopping his comprehension of the formation. He knew his arraycraft had advanced to Sixth-Rank Formation Grandmaster. With the Five Direction Banners, he could even set up a Seventh-Rank Formation Sovereign, meaning Joe Di could barely be considered a Seventh-Rank Formation Sovereign.
Of those present, apart from Joe Di, the lowest cultivation was at the early Genesis Realm. As a Genesis Realm Saint Emperor, it was easy to recognize that this Ancient Array Sigil was the entrance. However, breaking such an ancient sigil was no simple task.
The best way was to break it. If one made a mistake while breaking this Ancient Array Sigil, they could lose their life and be reduced to Dao resonance within the formation. Alternatively, there was brute force. Success was a fifty-fifty chance. If luck was on your side, you could break the sigil and reveal the entrance; if not, the sigil would be destroyed completely, and entry would be impossible.
As Joe Di stood up and cursed, the surrounding haze of Dao resonance dissipated, and he became clear to everyone once more.
"If you're worried, I can try to break it too. Unfortunately, I don't have any Five Direction Banners," said Ma Ju Jia of the Sea Clan.
As the group spoke, they had already, intentionally or not, surrounded Joe Di. If he refused to act, they would surely join forces against him.
Jason Silentwood sneered inwardly. He had called everyone here precisely to break the sigil together. Joe Di was reckless—he had dared to reveal the Five Direction Banners just to let Tang Xitan escape.
That was one thing, but this kid had clearly escaped from Graham Ming, only to return again. He must have nerves of steel. Before, no one wanted to cooperate with him, but now, for everyone's benefit, they had to join forces.
No one objected to Joe Di's words. He continued, "Second, as everyone knows, breaking these ancient sigils is dangerous—one mistake and you could die. So I hope that once I've broken this array, any further problems will have nothing to do with me. I can't be expected to solve everything, can I?"
"That's fine," Darren Rice, the City Lord of Crimson Sanctuary, unexpectedly spoke up. Joe Di found it strange—this fellow usually played it safe and tried to please everyone, but now he actually dared to stand out. That took some guts.
No one objected to Joe Di's words. He continued, "Second, as everyone knows, decoding these ancient sigils is dangerous—one mistake and you could die. So I hope that once I've broken this array, any further problems will have nothing to do with me. I can't be expected to solve everything, can I?"
"Alright, we agree. Go ahead and decode it," Jason Silentwood said without hesitation. He didn't even bother to set a time limit for Joe Di, knowing full well that if the sigil wasn't broken within nine hours, it would be consumed by the Ancient Array Sigil.
After casually setting up a Divine Guardian Formation, Joe Di stepped into the Eightfold Formation Seal without hesitation.
Even if Jason Silentwood hadn't asked him to decode the sigil, Joe Di would have volunteered. To others, these ancient sigils were obstacles; to Joe Di, they were treasures.
Joe Di placed his hands on the Eightfold Formation Seal, Dao resonance flowing around him as his rules permeated the formation.
One by one, brand new arraycraft rules were captured by Joe Di. The profound techniques of inscribing formation sigils seemed to open a far broader gateway before him.
In just half an incense stick's time, Joe Di's figure vanished from everyone's divine sense. Any attempt to probe was blocked by layer upon layer of intricate laws.
Joe Di sighed, "I don't mind trying again, but I just used up a Supreme Dao Vein, several high-grade Dao Veins, and some Dao Essence Fruits. I don't have any more to spare for another attempt."
Several hours passed in a flash, and Jason Silentwood noticed the aura around Joe Di seemed to be rising. He decided he couldn't wait any longer—if Joe Di hadn't been devoured by the Eightfold Formation Seal after so long, he might truly be comprehending something within it.
Jason Silentwood said coldly, "I have a high-grade Dao Vein and two Dao Essence Fruits. I'll contribute them."
Boom! At almost the same moment, Joe Di's Dao essence surged to a new level. Delighted, he opened his eyes, stopping his comprehension of the formation. He knew his arraycraft had advanced to Sixth-Rank Divine Array King. With the Five Direction Banners, he could even set up a Seventh-Rank Divine Array, meaning Joe Di could barely be considered a Seventh-Rank Divine Array Emperor.
Seeing Jason Silentwood tear at his defensive array, Joe Di sneered inwardly. This old fox was truly cunning. If he had struck half an incense stick sooner, Joe Di might have failed. But now, the old turtle had miscalculated.
Joe Di suddenly stood up, pointing at Jason Silentwood and cursing, "You old turtle, I've been working hard to break open the entrance for everyone, and you dare to plot against me? You sly old chicken!"
As Joe Di stood up and cursed, the surrounding haze of Dao essence dissipated, and he became clear to everyone once more.
Jason Silentwood stared at Joe Di in shock. Even if Joe Di hadn't been devoured by the Ancient Array Sigil's Dao essence, he shouldn't have been able to leave so easily. Had Joe Di been pretending to decode the sigil all along? That didn't seem possible—the flow of Dao essence couldn't be faked. Whether or not he was decoding, the Dao essence would immediately merge into the Ancient Array Sigil.
So why wasn't Joe Di dead?
"Joe Di, watch your mouth. I was only worried about you," Jason Silentwood said, his face darkening.
Joe Di sneered, "Worried about me? Old turtle, you were worried I'd comprehend something, weren't you? If you'd waited half an incense stick longer, I'd have opened the array gate. But you interrupted me—heh, now I've failed. Tell me, aren't you an old turtle?"
Jason Silentwood was furious, but before he could speak, Fan Yuan stared at Joe Di and asked, "Daoist Di, are you telling the truth?"
Joe Di said calmly, "That's right, I'm telling the truth. Since you won't let me decode it, you can do it yourselves."
With that, Joe Di collected his array banners and stepped out of the Eightfold Formation Seal without a care.
Several people turned their gaze to Jason Silentwood, their looks clearly filled with dissatisfaction and reproach. Everyone knew Jason Silentwood wanted Joe Di dead, and no one cared. But if Joe Di really was about to break the sigil, that was no small matter.
If the sigil was broken, everyone could go in directly. If they tried to force it open, not to mention alerting the Chaos Lotus, the ancient sigil could very well collapse, leaving them with nothing.
As for whether Joe Di was lying, no one believed he would dare. If he lied, he'd anger everyone, and they'd join forces to kill him.
Jason Silentwood's face darkened, but he had no choice but to cup his fists and say, "I was too reckless just now. I disturbed Daoist Di's comprehension. I apologize to everyone."
Fan Yuan said to Joe Di, "Daoist Di, Island Lord Silentwood didn't mean to interrupt you. Could you try again?"
If Joe Di failed again, they wouldn't be polite. While breaking through the entrance together, they'd kill Joe Di first.
Joe Di sighed, "I don't mind trying again, but I just used up a supreme-grade spirit vein, several high-grade spirit veins, and some Dao Essence Fruits. I don't have any more to spare for another attempt."
Everyone secretly cursed Joe Di for being shameless.
Jason Silentwood said coldly, "I have a high-grade spirit vein and two Dao Essence Fruits. I'll contribute them."
I'm giving you the resources, but who knows if you'll survive to use them.
"Not enough," Joe Di chuckled, not even bothering to take Jason Silentwood's offer.
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)