Blake Lane was himself a fifth-tier array master—how could he not know what was happening? Someone had sealed the Inferno Sect with a Deathtrap Array.
The Inferno Sect was a Six Star Sect, officially recognized by the Yalen Continent. Blake Lane simply couldn’t fathom who had the audacity to set up a Deathtrap Array at the gates of the Inferno Sect. After all, in all of Yalen Continent, there was no one who dared such a thing—not even the president of the Starhenge Guild would dare.
Precisely because of this, Blake Lane was burning with rage.
“I must see who has such nerve—to seal my Inferno Sect with a Deathtrap Array…” Blake Lane strode straight to the entrance of the sect’s Grand Council Hall.
The sect being trapped by a killing array angered not only Sect Master Blake Lane; every elder and peak lord in the Grand Council Hall immediately stood up, following him out to see for themselves.
“Sect Master…” Another panicked voice rang out, as a middle-aged woman with a frightened expression rushed over.
Blake Lane fixed his icy gaze on the approaching woman, his voice cold as frost. "Speak. If you can’t give a proper explanation, you won’t live to see another day."
Blake Lane knew who this woman was—the sect’s Soul Lamp steward.
Hearing Blake Lane’s words, the middle-aged woman calmed down instead. She bowed and said, "Reporting to Sect Master and elders, not long ago, the Young Sect Master’s Soul Lamp grew dim—on the verge of going out…"
Before the woman could mention that Grand Alchemist Guy and two Golden Core elders’ Soul Lamps had gone out, Blake Lane had already vanished from the hall entrance.
Right now, his heart was burning with anxiety—Luke Lane was his only son, the hope of his future. Once Luke entered the Central Realm, Blake Lane was certain he could rely on his son's power to enter the Central Realm himself one day.
And now, the Soul Lamp of the son he pinned all his hopes on was about to go out—how could he accept this? If anything happened to Luke Lane, he would lose his mind.
Joe Di didn’t have any top-tier healing pills on him, but fortunately, Debbie Di was just an ordinary mortal. In a short time, her vitality quickly flourished.
Joe Di stopped helping Debbie Di recover. He stood up, swept his arm, and the place collapsed completely—leaving only the wall where Luke Lane was nailed. His divine sense had already detected Blake Lane rushing over. Now was the time for his revenge.
"Joe…" Debbie Di looked fearfully at the many powerful cultivators descending from the sky. It was her first time seeing people truly fly—and there were only two of them, facing all these flying experts. How could they possibly resist?
Blake Lane landed and saw his son Luke Lane, eyes gouged out and nailed to the wall, blood streaming down. His face twisted in rage.
He didn’t have time to kill Joe Di—he rushed madly to try and take Luke Lane down from the wall.
But as soon as he got within ten feet of the wall, a barrage of deadly killing lights slammed toward him. Even as a Seabreaker Stage cultivator, Blake Lane was forced into a flustered retreat, stumbling back over thirty feet.
After his frenzy, Blake Lane calmed down. As a fifth-tier array master, he could already tell the wall where his son was had an Eighth-Rank Slaughter Array. Even with his skills, it would take him half a day to break it.
Besides, anyone capable of laying an Eighth-Rank Slaughter Array was anything but simple.
Taking a deep breath, Blake Lane looked at Joe Di and said, "Fellow Daoist, who are you? My Inferno Sect has no grudge with you. Yet your killing intent is so fierce, setting up an Eighth-Rank Deathtrap Array outside my sect and slaughtering my disciples. You even gouged out my son's eyes and nailed him to the wall, leaving him to bleed—don't you think that's a bit too cruel?"
As he spoke, all the elders of the Inferno Sect spread out, surrounding Joe Di.
Facing an opponent who could casually set up an Eighth-Rank Deathtrap Array, Blake Lane had no intention of trying to trap Joe Di with an array himself.
Joe Di looked calmly at the dozens surrounding him, and the growing number of cultivators rushing over. His voice was cold: "I am Joe Di, from Pearl City in Jade Nation. Your Inferno Sect sent people to Pearl City, killed my father, gouged out my sister Debbie Di’s eyes for your son Luke Lane, and slaughtered all 760 members of my family and servants—leaving not a single survivor. Tell me, why shouldn’t I be ruthless? And where is Simon Li?"
"Your grandfather is right here. So you’re the ant that escaped all those years ago…" Simon Li’s words cut off abruptly. His neck was seized by a large hand, and he dangled in the air. Seeing his eyes bulge, no one could believe he was a Soul Ancestor Stage expert.
Blake Lane, who was about to call everyone to attack, sucked in a cold breath. That kind of power—he didn’t have it himself.
"Thump, thump, thump, thump!" Joe Di flung Simon Li aside. As Simon Li gasped for breath, several array flags nailed his hands and feet in place.
He was nailed to the wall right next to Luke Lane, the two of them looking like lizards—almost comical.
But no one here found it funny. Instead, a chill crept into their hearts. They guessed at Joe Di’s cultivation—surely it was beyond the Seabreaker Stage.
Some thought the Inferno Sect had finally provoked a true disaster—some things, it seemed, really shouldn’t be done.
Blake Lane felt his throat go dry. He took a breath and tried to soften his tone. "Daoist Joe, my Inferno Sect was wrong in this matter. Now you’ve reclaimed your sister’s eyes and killed more than ten of my disciples. As they say, enemies should be resolved, not made. Can you spare my son? My Inferno Sect is willing to offer further compensation…"
Even the Seabreaker Stage sect master was showing weakness—none of the other Inferno Sect cultivators dared utter a word.
Joe Di stretched out his hand again, and a flame fell beneath Luke Lane and Simon Li. He sneered, "Do you really think the Inferno Sect will still exist after today?"
(Irrelevant passage, skip translation.)
"You court death…" Seeing Joe Di dare to burn his own son, Blake Lane went completely mad. He grabbed the Falling Fire Pagoda and lunged at Joe Di.
Seeing the sect master charge at Joe Di, all the Inferno Sect elders joined the attack.
Joe Di had already planned to wipe them all out. He didn’t wait for Blake Lane’s Falling Fire Pagoda to unleash its layers of volcanoes—hundreds of top-grade spirit blades formed a Fifth-Rank Nirvana Gold Blade Array.
Against a mere Seabreaker Stage cultivator, with the rest only Void Spirit and Soul Ancestor Stage, Joe Di didn’t even need to use his Seventh-Rank Skyveil Blade Array.
With the Fifth-Rank Blade Array unleashed, blade intent rampaged across the sky. This wasn’t some illusionary array formed by spiritual sense—it was a real array made from top-grade blade artifacts.
Under Joe Di’s Tenth-Level divine sense control, the Fifth-Rank Nirvana Gold Blade Array was flawless. Wave after wave of blade energy killed Soul Ancestor cultivators instantly. Void Spirit cultivators could block a few blades, but death was inevitable. In this moment, none of the Inferno Sect elders caught in Joe Di’s array could resist at all.
It wasn’t that they were weak—Joe Di’s blade array, powered by top-grade blades, was simply too strong.
A Void Spirit Stage elder, ninth level, screamed as a top-grade blade pierced his throat: "Blake Lane, you and your son are the greatest sinners of the Inferno Sect. When you die, even our ancestors won’t forgive you…"
Before he finished, a second blade swept in and took his head clean off.
Blake Lane’s face twisted in terror. He’d guessed Joe Di might be stronger, but never imagined the gap would be this vast. Wasn’t Joe Di just a mortal who escaped the Di family a few years ago? How could he have grown so powerful in such a short time?
He kept fighting, but he knew he couldn’t last. His Falling Fire Pagoda was already being used just to block the endless blades in the array—he had no chance to attack Joe Di.
The battle was over before it began. Blake Lane was simply outclassed by Joe Di. And up to this point, Joe Di hadn’t even used the Red Tassel Blade on his back.
"Slash!" A blade tore through Blake Lane’s brow. He watched as the flames consumed Luke Lane, and died, unwilling.
Joe Di collected ring after ring. The Inferno Sect didn’t have much worth taking, but he wasn’t about to waste the rings.
"Joe… you…" Debbie Di stared blankly as Joe Di put away hundreds of top-grade blades, looking at him in a daze.
"Debbie, our Di ancestors were cultivators—that’s why you have Sacred Spirit Eyes. You’ll need to cultivate too. Only by cultivating will you avoid being bullied." Joe Di didn’t stop Debbie from watching as he killed the Inferno Sect elders.