"Cosmic Essence?" Joe Di asked in shock. He had seen this item mentioned in the World Book—it was simply the best thing in the universe for restoring divine essence and healing injuries.
Its effects are somewhat similar to the Origin Dew he obtained before, but if compared directly, tossing a single drop of Cosmic Essence into a large lake—the effect of that drop on the lake might be equivalent to the effect of Origin Dew.
Joe Di thought he would never see such a thing in his lifetime, yet not only had he heard about it, he now also learned the origin of the Cosmic Essence.
Yvette Yi nodded vigorously. "Yes, it's the Cosmic Essence. On Alliance Star, there is a tower called the Alliance Dao Tower. The Alliance Dao Tower has eighteen floors, and it is said that the Cosmic Essence is at the very top of the eighteenth floor."
"Can anyone just take the Cosmic Essence?" Joe Di asked in disbelief.
Yvette Yi shook her head. "No, my father told me that in the history of the Alliance Dao Tower, only one person has ever obtained the Cosmic Essence, and that was Damian Ning. As for those from Celestial Beyond who go to Alliance Star, thinking they can get the Cosmic Essence—it's nothing but a dream."
"Even if you go to Alliance Star, you probably won't be able to control Alliance Star either," Joe Di said. Now that he knew about the Alliance Dao Tower, he realized that Yvette Yi's strength was far from enough to inherit her father's position as master of Alliance Star—it was simply impossible.
Yvette Yi bowed and said, "I'm going to Alliance Star to retrieve some things my parents left for me. Also, I want to see if my uncle, Lee Rivers, is still there."
Back then, after her parents brought her to Celestial Beyond, Alliance Star was managed by her uncle, Lee Rivers.
After hearing about the Cosmic Essence, Joe Di wanted to go to Alliance Star even more. Besides, Long Nie and Nora were both still on Alliance Star?
"Let's go. We'll head to Alliance Star right now," Joe Di decided instantly, without a trace of hesitation.
Before anyone could respond, a cold voice rang out, "You aren't going anywhere. In all these years, you are the most arrogant outsider I've ever seen. Even that Ning fellow back then was arrogant, but not to your extent."
Almost as soon as the voice appeared, Joe Di sensed four more people present. Sensing their strength, Joe Di's heart sank, and the Azure Veil Blade was already in his hand.
At the same time, Charlotte Ling summoned her Verdant Lily Sword and stood shoulder to shoulder with Joe Di.
She glanced at Joe Di in confusion, unable to understand—these people had arrived right beside them, yet Joe Di didn't seem to notice? That shouldn't be possible; she was sure Joe Di had set up something outside.
Joe Di sent a voice transmission to Charlotte Ling, "These people used a teleportation array to come directly to Celestial Beyond. They didn't pass through the array gate I set up at the entrance."
Charlotte Ling immediately understood. Who were the people that once lived in Celestial Beyond? For them, setting up a teleportation array leading to Alliance Star inside Celestial Beyond was absolutely no challenge.
Clearly, the matter of Joe Di killing Gavin Yan had been spread by someone, and these experts had teleported back at the first opportunity.
Arriving at Celestial Beyond through the teleportation array was obviously beyond Joe Di's expectations, making the contingencies he had set up outside temporarily useless.
The four formed a semicircle, surrounding Joe Di's group of five in the center.
Joe Di knew that although there were five people on his side, only he and Charlotte Ling could actually fight. The other three probably weren't even qualified to stand by as spectators in this kind of battle.
Joe Di immediately sent a voice transmission to Vera Tang: "Once the fight starts, use the Realmbreaker Array Disk to take Tammy Tang and Yvette Yi away. Charlotte Ling and I have our own way. As for everything else, we'll talk when we have a chance to regroup."
Joe Di knew that Vera Tang possessed a very high-grade Realmbreaker Array Disk.
Vera Tang felt a wave of helplessness and could only nod. She had come here with great ambition to find out about her brother, but upon arrival, she realized her strength wasn't even enough to protect herself, let alone do anything else. If she didn’t leave, she would only be a burden.
Joe Di then sent a voice transmission to Tammy Tang and Yvette Yi, telling them to look for an opportunity to escape with Vera Tang. Only then did he turn his gaze to the four opponents.
Across from them stood four people—two men and two women. The one who had spoken earlier was a late-stage Dao Integration woman, with blue eyes and golden hair, her figure so voluptuous it seemed her clothes might burst at any moment.
Next to her was another woman with delicate features, but her eyes were filled with murderous intent, ruining her otherwise refined appearance. Her cultivation was much lower, only at the early stage of Dao Integration.
The other two were men. One bore a resemblance to Jack Nie and was also a late-stage Dao Integration cultivator. Joe Di guessed this must be the Nie Clan Patriarch, Long Nie. The other had only just stepped into Dao Integration, his cultivation barely stabilized.
No matter how you calculated it, Joe Di and Charlotte Ling were in a situation where defeat was inevitable.
"You’ve got guts—not only did you destroy the Celestial Sovereign Palace of Celestial Beyond, but you even dared to lay hands on my son." Long Nie spoke each word with deliberate intensity, clearly showing his hatred for Joe Di.
After saying this, Long Nie raised his hand and grabbed a handful of array flags, while simultaneously reaching for the long blade Joe Di had nailed into the void.
Nora and the other two Dao Integration cultivators did not move. Clearly, they intended to wait until Long Nie rescued his son Jack Nie before making a move against Joe Di.
Vera Tang watched Joe Di, waiting for his command. As soon as Joe Di said to run, she would escape immediately. With Long Nie focused on saving his son, this should be the best moment to flee.
What puzzled Vera Tang was that Joe Di didn’t give any order at all.
Long Nie’s hand seals simultaneously grabbed Joe Di’s five long blades. Divine essence surged forth, and under the shower of array flags, the five blades broke free from the void.
It seemed Nora and the other three were holding formation for Long Nie, yet Joe Di didn’t move at all. Only the pale-blue Azure Veil Blade circled around him.
Bang! Almost at the same moment the five blades broke free from the void, Jack Nie—who had been nailed in the void by Joe Di—suddenly burst into a cloud of blood mist and vanished without a trace.
"With skills like yours, you dare touch Grandpa’s blade? You’re simply overestimating yourself." Joe Di mocked casually.
Long Nie let out a fierce, shrill roar. "This Saint will devour you!"
As he spoke, Long Nie’s aura surged wildly, charging at Joe Di. At the same time, the other three split into two groups—Nora and the delicate-featured woman rushed at Charlotte Ling, while the early-stage Dao Integration man charged at Vera Tang and her group.
The terrifying Dao Integration domain pressure swept over. Any cultivators who were slightly closer were instantly torn to pieces by the force. The rest fled in panic—no one dared to stay and watch.
Vera Tang sighed and took out her artifact. She knew that even if she wanted to leave now, it was impossible. Since that was the case, she might as well fight alongside Brother Di.
At that moment, Joe Di’s voice rang out: "Go now, immediately!"
Vera Tang was stunned. Leave now? The Dao Integration domain was suppressing the three of them—how could they leave? Even the Realmbreaker Array Disk couldn’t be activated…
No, Vera Tang had just thought of this when she suddenly felt the space around her empty out. A vast aura of reincarnation swept over. She seemed to see a black wooden bridge forming out of nowhere in the void, with Joe Di holding a long blade, standing at the edge of the bridge, his hands weaving countless seals as he roared, "You came for reincarnation! You leave for reincarnation! Give me reincarnation… reincarnation…"
Vera Tang’s eyes reddened. She could see blood constantly spilling from Joe Di’s mouth—she knew he was desperately unleashing a supreme technique. She had to leave as quickly as possible.
Thinking this, Vera Tang no longer hesitated. She activated the Realmbreaker Array Disk, her divine essence sweeping out; Tammy Tang and Yvette Yi were pulled under its light as the Realmbreaker Array Disk enveloped all three. In the next instant, the disk tore open the void of Celestial Beyond, taking the three of them away without a trace.
Just after Vera Tang and the others left, Joe Di spat out a mouthful of blood. To buy time for Vera Tang, he had to use his strongest technique to lock down the four opponents.