Despite Cassie Cao repeatedly urging Joe Di to leave as soon as possible, Joe remained for half a year after arranging Cassie's affairs. He simply could not rest easy about Jaxon Di. Joe also understood that Cassie was telling the truth—if he brought Jaxon Di with him into the vast starry skies, it would only put the child in danger.
After half a year, Joe Di helped Jaxon Di solidify his cultivation foundation, assisted Luna Cui and Andy Hou in establishing theirs, and crafted several top-grade magic artifacts and low-grade spiritual tools for them before finally bidding farewell.
If one day he could regain his strength, he would return here at once to take Jaxon Di away. And as for Dominic Du—who exactly was he? Why did Senior Sister say that his fall into reincarnation was connected to Dominic Du?
......
Far beyond the countless realms and planes where Joe Di resided, a plain-faced man wearing a tall crown sat atop a mountain peak. Opposite him sat a fat traveler. Wisps of white clouds surrounded the area.
Between the two was a chessboard with an unfinished game, suggesting they had been playing for a long time.
"Dominic Du, your enemies are making rapid progress, yet here you are calmly playing chess with me. Aren’t you worried at all?" The fat traveler’s position was clearly unfavorable, and he couldn’t help but try to disrupt his opponent’s composure.
Dominic Du chuckled, "No rush. I have plenty of time; I can afford to wait."
The fat traveler grinned mischievously, "You’ve scattered seven of your Reminiscent Bodhi Seeds, haven’t you? Is this latest one your last?"
Dominic Du replied coolly, "You know quite a lot."
The fat traveler scoffed, "Not only do I know you've scattered so many Reminiscent Bodhi Seeds, I also know one reason for doing so is your search for The Vanished One, that elusive Prime Law. What a pity, truly a pity. If only you'd given me that Reminiscent Bodhi Tree, how wonderful that would have been..."
Dominic Du seemed to understand what the fat traveler regretted and said calmly, "You're right. But that Prime Law, The Vanished One, already recognizes its master, so I could never obtain it myself. I'm certain the last one out there is the one I'm searching for. His progress is slow, but it doesn't matter—I have patience."
Dominic Du spoke as if everything was under his control.
"Then haven't you wasted six Reminiscent Bodhi Seeds?" The fat traveler grinned, locking down one of Dominic Du's white veins of vitality with a black piece.
Dominic Du glanced at the fat traveler, calmly placed a white piece, and said, "How do you know I'm wasting them?"
"I'm thinking, if you use your last Reminiscent Bodhi Seed incorrectly, will The Vanished One still be yours?" With these words, the fat traveler quickly dropped another black piece onto the board.
Dominic Du held a white piece, furrowing his brow as his attention drifted from the chessboard to sensing the whereabouts of his Reminiscent Bodhi Seed.
After a long while, he finally smiled and placed the white piece down. "He is cautious, sorting out his thoughts for months before using the Reminiscent Bodhi Seed for reincarnation. I won't have to wait much longer—within ten thousand years, I can afford to wait."
......
If Joe Di knew all this, he would only be grateful that he obtained The Vanished One before encountering Dominic Du. If he had met Dominic Du first and only then acquired The Vanished One, he might now be reincarnating for Dominic Du's sake.
Deep within the Wilderness Zone, Joe Di had been here for nearly three months. He scoured the entire region several times, and at last managed to forge a top-grade flying spiritual tool and a superior-grade attack spiritual tool. Though he crafted some low-grade treasures, he did not bring any back for Andy Hou and Luna Cui.
On this planet, with Andy Hou and Luna Cui's strength, plus a few low-grade spiritual tools, they could easily dominate.
For Andy Hou and Luna Cui, the most important thing was to increase their strength, so that one day they might step into an even higher realm.
Once everything was ready, Joe Di piloted his top-grade flying spiritual vessel and soared away from the planet.
Joe Di did not realize that even with a top-grade flying spiritual tool, finding another cultivator planet was nearly impossible. With this vessel, he could not even leave the star system.
Not just Joe Di—even Cassie Cao had no clear idea. Deep down, she only knew that if Joe Di stayed on this planet, his only path was death.
But after her reincarnation, Cassie Cao did not fully recover her memories. What she remembered was selective—only those memories useful to Joe Di returned, while the rest were discarded. With her unrefined fleshly body, if she regained all her memories after rebirth, her consciousness might have exploded from the strain.
Cassie Cao could vaguely sense that it was extremely difficult for Joe Di to leave this planet, but no matter how hard, it was not worth sacrificing his life. That was why she urged Joe Di to leave, no matter what.
In less than half a day, Joe Di's top-grade flying spiritual vessel broke free from the planet's atmosphere and charged into the vast starry sky.
Only now did Joe Di realize how difficult it was to survive in the boundless starry sky.
Spiritual energy was scarce in the starry sky, and meteor streams could be found everywhere. If he was not careful, a powerful meteor stream could shatter his flying spiritual vessel.
During the first half-year after entering the starry sky, Joe Di spent nearly all his time dodging meteors and meteor streams, following Cassie Cao's advice to search for inhabited cultivator planets.
After half a year, Joe Di realized that both he and Cassie Cao had been far too optimistic. In the vastness of space, not only was it impossible to find an inhabited planet, but even his cultivation progress stalled. Mere survival was a struggle beyond compare.
Fortunately, before leaving, he had reached the Soul Origin Realm. Otherwise, he would have faced only death in the starry sky.
A year passed, and Joe Di continued searching for a cultivator planet. After two years, he knew it was nearly impossible. By the third and fourth years, he became completely calm, no longer obsessed with finding others. Even if he could not obtain more cultivation resources, he had to focus on strengthening himself.
In the starry sky, time held no meaning. For years, Joe Di drifted alone, never seeing another soul. His cultivation barely advanced, but his physical body grew ever stronger. From dodging meteor streams at first, he had reached the point where he could easily shatter them with his own flesh.
His body's strength far surpassed his cultivation, becoming his greatest asset for survival in the starry sky. By now, he was utterly lost, unable to return to his original planet even if he tried.
......
Because his cultivation progressed slowly, Joe Di devoted all his time to tempering his body. On this day, he stood at the bow of his spiritual vessel, refining his flesh as a fierce meteor stream swept past.
Facing such a meteor stream, Joe Di was fully prepared. Now, he could rely on his powerful body to shatter them. Each time he endured one, his flesh grew even stronger.
As the meteor stream approached, Joe Di did as usual: his fists struck out, unleashing twin gusts of force, and his arms formed a shield in the shape of the character '人'.
Boom! Crack!
Joe Di was shocked. As the meteor shattered, so too did the bones in his arms. This meteor stream was ten times stronger than any he had faced before.
Before Joe Di could recover, an even more violent force struck. No matter how resilient his body was, he could not withstand this impact.
Boom! His top-grade spiritual vessel was instantly smashed to pieces, and he was swept away by the meteor stream. Even as Joe Di pushed himself to the limit, he could not break free from its grasp.