As soon as Joe Di stepped out, Carter Ding followed closely behind. In fact, a month ago, when Joe Di stopped cultivating, Carter Ding had also ceased his own cultivation. Whenever Joe Di stopped, Carter Ding immediately felt his own progress slow to a crawl.
For Carter Ding, he was already deeply satisfied. In just a few short years, he had advanced from the early Dao Nurturing stage to its late phase. If not for cultivating beside Joe Di, reaching the late Dao Nurturing stage would have taken him hundreds, even thousands or tens of thousands of years.
"Brother Di..." Carter Ding called out excitedly, having decided to follow Joe Di from now on.
"Not bad. With a bit more time, you'll be ready to transcend the Dao." Joe Di had already noticed that Carter Ding's cultivation had reached the late Dao Nurturing stage.
Carter Ding didn't have as many cultivation resources as Joe Di. Besides his supreme Dao vein, he only had a handful of God Origin Pills. Carter Ding had simply benefited from the clear and abundant rules of heaven and earth surrounding Joe Di during cultivation, so his progress was indeed remarkable.
"Bolt, let's go. Looks like we'll be leaving Crimson Sanctuary soon." Joe Di called out to Bolt.
Bolt darted out. After several years absorbing divine energy atop the supreme Dao vein and comprehending Joe Di's Dao intent, Bolt too had advanced into the ranks of a second-grade spirit beast.
"Ah, we're leaving?" Carter Ding thought Joe Di had just come out for a stroll and would soon resume his secluded cultivation, allowing him to strive for Dao Nurturing perfection.
Joe Di's sudden announcement about leaving left Carter Ding feeling rather disappointed.
"That's right. Someone's come looking for us, and I doubt it's anything good." Joe Di was well aware that he had no ties with Xavier White; if Xavier White sought him out, it could only be for one reason—Voidmount.
Joe Di withdrew the unused Supreme Dao Vein. Just as he, Dean Carter, and Bolt stepped out of the Pill & Artifact Pavilion, Xavier White came forward, having monitored Joe Di's secluded cultivation at every moment.
"Haha, Brother Di, I've waited several years for you!" Xavier White greeted him warmly, his tone exaggerated with delight.
Joe Di also called out in surprise, "Brother Xu, I'm just short of Dao Veins, and here you are to pay your debt. Much appreciated!"
Xavier White owed him nine Dao Veins. Although Joe Di hadn't paid attention at the time and Xavier White had exploited a loophole, the grade of the Dao Veins wasn't specified. Still, even nine lower-grade Dao Veins would be a considerable fortune.
Xavier White smiled awkwardly and said, "Brother Di, I really didn't expect you to arrive in the Dao Domain so soon. Over the years, I've scraped together enough to get a single mid-grade Dao Vein."
With that, Xavier White handed Joe Di a ring.
Joe Di accepted the ring and scanned it with his divine sense—sure enough, it contained a mid-grade Dao Vein of decent quality. Though he now possessed several Supreme Dao Veins, a mid-grade Dao Vein no longer held much appeal. Still, the fact that Xavier White repaid him suggested he was about to ask for a favor.
"You're the master of Voidmount, one of the Ten Prodigies..." Dean Carter finally recognized the frail man before him and exclaimed in astonishment.
He was a genius of the same era as Jaden Dai, and in the ranking of the Ten Prodigies, Xavier White was placed above Jaden Dai. Had Xavier White not disappeared later, his fame might well have surpassed Jaden Dai's.
Xavier White's gaze fell on Dean Carter. He nodded and said, "Not bad, not bad. You're Dean Carter from Great Buddha Mountain, aren't you? You have a bright future ahead."
Dean Carter dared not act as familiarly with Xavier White as Joe Di did, and hurriedly bowed, "Dean Carter greets Senior Xu."
Xavier White nodded, then turned to Joe Di and said, "Brother Di, I have something I'd like to discuss with you. Could we speak privately for a moment?"
Joe Di didn't mind at all and pointed to his Cloudspire Sanctuary, "If you don't mind, Brother Xu, let's talk inside my sanctuary."
Xavier White hesitated for a moment before agreeing, "All right, let's sit in Brother Di's sanctuary."
His hesitation stemmed from the fact that Joe Di's sanctuary was riddled with Deathtrap Arrays. If Joe Di harbored any ill intent, escaping would likely cost him some of his trump cards.
He quickly reminded himself of his purpose here and, gritting his teeth, agreed to Joe Di's proposal.
Joe Di was impressed by Xavier White's courage in daring to follow him inside. He suspected Xavier White possessed a top-tier Escape Talisman or an elite escape technique; otherwise, Xavier White wouldn't have risked entering.
Joe Di knew full well that if he truly wanted to keep Xavier White here, once inside Xavier White would be at his mercy. His guardian array might not stop Xavier White, but if he deployed the Five Direction Banners, unless Xavier White used an Escape Talisman above grade seven, he wouldn't be able to get away.
Joe Di doubted Xavier White possessed an Escape Talisman above grade seven.
"Brother Di, there is only cooperation between us, no discord." As soon as Xavier White sat down, he made his stance clear regarding his relationship with Joe Di.
Joe Di smiled, "Of course. Just the fact that Brother Xu waited two years for me without knocking on my door means I don't mind you coming here at all."
Joe Di was keenly aware that Xavier White had likely come to seize something from him. But after hearing he was not to be trifled with in Crimson Sanctuary, Xavier White switched to cooperation. For Xavier White to wait two years for this partnership, the matter must be extraordinary.
Xavier White gave an awkward smile, "Brother Di, you must have heard that Jaden Dai went to the Void Market?"
"I've heard as much," Joe Di nodded. He had originally assumed Jaden Dai went to the Void Market, but after refining Voidmount, he suddenly felt Jaden Dai might not have gone there after all—instead, he might have returned to Lostlake to seek him out.
It wasn't because he had kicked Jaden Dai out of his old lair, but because he had taken Jaden Dai's Five Direction Banners and Taiji Diagram.
The Taiji Diagram was clearly no less significant than the Five Direction Banners. With both treasures in his possession, there was no way Jaden Dai would simply go to the Void Market.
"Brother Di, that's exactly what I wanted to say. As far as I know, Jaden Dai is currently at the mid-stage Genesis Realm. If he goes to the Void Market, he might gain an opportunity and truly break through to the Dao Fusion Realm."
At this, Xavier White took a deep breath, his tone growing solemn. "Brother Di, you might think Dao Fusion is just the second step, a bit stronger than Prime Realm, but still limited. If that's your thinking, you're gravely mistaken. Dao Fusion isn't just a bit stronger than Prime Realm and Genesis Realm—it's far, far stronger. Once Jaden Dai breaks through to Dao Fusion, I might still be fine, but as for you..."
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Xavier White didn't continue, trusting that Joe Di understood his meaning.
Joe Di looked at Xavier White and asked, "Brother Xavier, what do you mean?"
"Brother Di, I'll be frank. I hope to join forces with you to enter Void Market. If the two of us work together, even if we encounter Jaden Dai, we won't have to fear him." Xavier White laid out his intentions.
In Xavier White's mind, Joe Di was also a Dao Origin cultivator. Joe Di could instantly kill a mid-stage Dao Origin, so he was no ordinary Dao Origin Emperor. As for Xavier White, he was no ordinary late-stage Dao Origin either. If the two teamed up, even if they couldn't defeat Jaden Dai, they would at least have a chance to escape.
Joe Di didn't know why Xavier White wanted to team up with him, but he was certain that Xavier White's grudge with Jaden Dai couldn't be as deep as his own.
Teaming up wouldn't hurt him. With that in mind, Joe Di asked, "Brother Xavier, but I've heard that entering Void Market requires a top-grade Realm Breaking Talisman. We don't have one."
Xavier White chuckled, "Brother Di, while I don't have a talisman powerful enough to directly break open the interface to Void Market, I do possess a slightly inferior Rift Talisman. As long as I activate the Rift Talisman and you strike with Voidmount, we should be able to tear open the domain and enter Void Market together."
After saying this, Xavier White fixed his gaze on Joe Di.
Joe Di sneered inwardly. Xavier White was trying to probe whether he had refined Voidmount.
Indeed, that was exactly what Xavier White was thinking. He was certain that refining Voidmount in such a short time was impossible. Yet, he was conflicted—if Joe Di hadn't refined Voidmount, how could he have left the realm between worlds?
For a treasure like Voidmount, he'd rather be trapped for hundreds of thousands of years than leave it behind. Would Joe Di really give it up so easily?
Just as Joe Di was about to speak, his brows furrowed. He stood up and said, "Brother Xavier, entering Void Market is certainly possible. Since we're teaming up, let's teach Jaden Dai a lesson first."
"Didn't Jaden Dai go to Void Market?" Xavier White asked, puzzled.
Joe Di's gaze shifted into the distance. "To Void Market? Not necessarily. There's a good chance Jaden Dai will return soon."
He had just sensed that the place where he'd repaired the Dao Realm's protective array had been disturbed. Who else could find such a remote spot besides Jaden Dai?
Why did Jaden Dai go there? Clearly, he wanted to re-enter Lostlake through the damaged section of the Dao Realm's array, unwilling to accept that his belongings had been taken by Joe Di.
But Jaden Dai hadn't expected that the Dao Realm's protective array had been repaired. Now, seeing the restored array, he would surely think of Joe Di.
If Jaden Dai remembered Joe Di, he'd likely head straight for Crimson Sanctuary in the Void Sea.
"Jaden Dai didn't go to Void Market?" Xavier White exclaimed in surprise, momentarily forgetting about Voidmount.
Joe Di said, "I'm certain Jaden Dai didn't go to Void Market. Brother Xavier, if you truly want to team up, I'll set up a trapping array here. If you're not sincere, I'll leave first."