Within this clearly defined fire ring, designed specifically for body refinement, Joe Di's physical strength steadily advanced from the Tri-King Realm's Void Stage toward the Soul Ancestor Stage.
Joe Di was both delighted and excited. To refine his body without suffering pain was like paradise. With this smooth progress, he would reach the Soul Ancestor Stage in just half a month. If this continued, after crossing into the Soul Ancestor Stage, he might even have a chance to break through to the true Tri-King Realm.
Crack! Just as Joe Di's delight faded, a bone within him snapped. Before he could react, it was as if a chain reaction had begun—one bone after another fractured inside his body.
A tongue of flame shot out from his Stellar Meridian and landed in his vital blood. At that moment, his blood seemed like fuel oil, causing the flame to erupt explosively—his entire body was ablaze.
Terrifying pain surged through him, twisting Joe Di's features and body. What gathered on his forehead was no longer sweat, but blood. This agony was several times worse than what he'd endured in the spatial wind blades.
Joe Di had no time to think about the problem; he could only frantically operate the Genesis Body Codex. The Dao Flame shielded his meridians and Purple Mansion. Whenever the flames threatened to damage these, he immediately absorbed the rampaging fire within him.
If not for his powerful Sea of Consciousness, this pain would have been enough to make him faint. Even if he didn't lose consciousness, he couldn't have endured it.
His powerful Sea of Consciousness also strengthened Joe Di's will. Having once refined his body amidst spatial wind blades, he had some experience. He knew the pain now was nearly inhuman, but if he persevered, the rewards would be equally great.
Sure enough, before the pain ended, Joe Di felt his physical strength surge rapidly under the Genesis Body Codex.
This inhuman torment lasted for several days. As Joe Di's physical strength kept climbing, his bones began to emit a faint glow under the Genesis Body Codex. The broken bones slowly healed, and the burned flesh and blood started to regenerate…
Like a seed sprouting from the earth, at the moment Joe Di's bones and body recomposed, he surged into the Soul Ancestor Stage of the Tri-King Realm.
Joe Di sighed inwardly. He had thought he'd found a place to refine his body without pain or injury, but it seemed every form of body refinement required enduring such torment.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to break into the true Tri-King Realm, Joe Di sped up the Genesis Body Codex. To his disappointment, this place only allowed him to reach the Soul Ancestor Stage; no matter how he operated the Genesis Body Codex, his body could advance no further.
Joe Di instinctively glanced at the others and was surprised to find that their body refinement didn't seem as painful as his. Though he wanted to use his spiritual sense to probe their cultivation, he knew this was a taboo. He guessed the effectiveness of body refinement here likely depended on the technique used.
Sighing, Joe Di figured he would have to find another place.
Just as Joe Di was about to leave for the sixty-fifth floor, a sudden voice called out, "You there. Move aside."
A bearded young man carrying twin glass halberds pointed at Joe Di, his voice stern. After surveying the eighteen cultivators training here, he judged Joe Di the weakest.
Joe Di was already planning to leave, but hadn't expected someone to ask him to step aside. A mere Third Level Void God cultivator—Joe Di didn't care.
Though Joe Di had reached the sixty-fourth floor with ease thanks to each floor's foundational laws, he knew climbing this high was no easy feat. Anyone who made it this far was formidable. Not everyone could comprehend the Fivefold Dao Tower's foundational laws as he did.
In fact, if he hadn't had that golden streak within the Graystone, he wouldn't have thought to comprehend the laws here. Even if he had, he might not have succeeded.
Hearing this, Joe Di was disappointed and lost all interest in fighting Tyson Hu. "Potential List Sixty-Three Fellow Daoist, knowing you're a strong contender, how could I dare fight you? Since you've spoken, I should naturally give up my spot. You're a Potential List powerhouse and must have many treasures. I'm just a rogue cultivator, I've never seen such things. You wouldn't bully me, but shouldn't you show me a little something for giving up my spot?"
Normally, if someone tried to take your spot, the other party would fly into a rage and fight you. Why did he voluntarily give up his place?
Ah, he must have been intimidated by my rank as sixty-third on the Potential List.
Thinking this, Tyson Hu nodded. "That's right, knowing when to advance and retreat is good. Here, I have a fourth-grade Demon Cloud Gold—I'll give it to you."
With that, Tyson Hu took out a black crystal and handed it to Joe Di.
Joe Di laughed, "Tyson Hu, you're the sixty-third on the Potential List, yet you insult yourself with just a fourth-grade material? Bah! What's so scary about a sixty-third ranking? Let's fight. You know, I once met a cultivator ranked two hundred thirty-sixth, and he casually gave me a sixth-grade Illusion Crystal..."
Joe Di planned to fight Tyson Hu, and as for the wager, naturally he would choose something from the other party's ring.
"Impossible! How could anyone just give away a sixth-grade Illusion Crystal?" Tyson Hu blurted out, then realized it was absolutely impossible.
He grabbed a red ore, but before he could speak, Joe Di said, "Great, that one will do! The spot is yours, I'm leaving. Tyson, you're a cultivator I admire. Before I go, let me wish you eternal life, good fortune, robust health, everlasting strength, unmatched prestige—uh, maybe not that last one..."
Joe Di snatched the crystal from Tyson Hu's hand, turned, and instantly reached the entrance to the sixty-fifth floor, spouting a long string of blessings as he left.
After Joe Di finished his blessings, Tyson Hu finally realized, and said urgently, "I gave you the wrong one! I was supposed to give you Fiery Cloud Gold, not this one..."
Unfortunately, Joe Di had already rushed onto the sixty-fifth floor.
Tyson Hu's face turned pale. He had just handed over a ninth-grade Extreme Fire Gold.
Extreme Fire Gold is a treasure even the Five Grand Sects cannot obtain, a priceless item that can advance Heavenfire. Tyson Hu only acquired it by chance.
No, this material absolutely cannot be lost.
Tyson Hu had no interest in body refinement now and immediately chased after Joe Di to the entrance of the sixty-fifth floor, stepping up without hesitation.
But Tyson Hu wasn't Joe Di; without the tower's foundational laws protecting him, trying to ascend from the sixty-fourth to the sixty-fifth floor was a pipe dream.
Sure enough, Tyson Hu only managed three steps before the crushing pressure overwhelmed him, and he was instantly teleported out of the Fivefold Dao Tower.
"Ah, Tyson Hu has been teleported out!" someone exclaimed upon seeing him appear.
Tyson Hu is ranked sixty-third on the Potential List. With his strength, he should reach about the sixty-eighth floor and only exit after a year. His early exit shocked everyone.
Tyson Hu stood dazed in the plaza, his mind clearing. He realized that once he pulled out the Extreme Fire Gold, something felt wrong, but the other cultivator snatched it away in an instant, distracting him with a barrage of words.
No, even with speed and distraction, it shouldn't have been possible for anyone to snatch something from Tyson Hu.
After entering the sixty-fifth floor, Joe Di breathed a sigh of relief.
As soon as Joe Di saw Tyson Hu, his Cosmic Flame flickered—indicating Tyson Hu possessed a treasure his flame needed.
He hadn't dared rob Tyson Hu outright for the treasure. He'd hoped to provoke him into a bet so he could select something from Tyson Hu's ring. Unexpectedly, Tyson Hu handed over the Extreme Fire Gold.
Once Tyson Hu produced the Extreme Fire Gold, Joe Di knew he wouldn't actually give it up—so he simply took it and left.
He was glad he'd protected his starry meridians with Cosmic Flame during body refinement; otherwise, he wouldn't have sensed the Extreme Fire Gold at all.