Charlotte Ling stepped forward and gently embraced Vera Tang. "Yes, I never expected to see you here either. The universe is truly vast, yet so small."
"Senior Sister Charlotte, your aptitude far surpasses mine. Compared to you, the gap between us just keeps widening," Vera Tang said, seeing Charlotte Ling walking with Joe Di and unable to gauge Charlotte's cultivation. She immediately realized her own cultivation was far behind.
Charlotte Ling smiled softly. "Vera, my aptitude isn't actually better than yours. My master once told me that if you want to break free from this world, you can't rely solely on secluded cultivation. Many things can't be solved by closing yourself off, especially as your cultivation rises. The higher your cultivation, the more you need to go out and experience. Though venturing out may lead to my demise, cultivation itself is a kind of tempering. Without facing life and death, many things remain unclear."
Charlotte Ling spoke with deep emotion. In truth, she knew Vera Tang had reached the Immortal Realm before her. But later, Charlotte's cultivation accelerated and even surpassed Vera's—not because her aptitude was better, but because she had entered the Void alone.
Within the cosmic Void, she encountered countless opportunities and escaped death countless times. Only after gaining such insights did she step into the Genesis Realm. Later, in the Chaos Realm, she found more opportunities and advanced to the Dao Fusion Realm.
Of course, just as she said, if Joe Di hadn't intervened, she would have surely perished.
Vera Tang felt a little bitter as well. Back in the Cultivation World, she had always pushed herself in seclusion to improve her cultivation. Eventually, she did surpass many and became one of the first to ascend to the Immortal Realm. After arriving in the Immortal Realm, with her brother's help, her cultivation soared.
But after reaching the Sacred Dao Domain, her brother ventured into the Void, and her cultivation slowed. When she heard her brother was joining the life-and-death battle, she entered seclusion again. By the time she broke through to the Genesis Realm and came out, her brother was long gone.
This prolonged period of seclusion also made Vera Tang understand what Charlotte Ling had just said: the higher one's cultivation, the less effective seclusion becomes.
"You two know each other?" Joe Di looked at Vera Tang and Charlotte Ling in confusion, then realized they both came from the Sacred Dao Domain. It made sense that they would know each other.
"We met in the Cultivation World. Back then, some busybodies put us together on a ranking list," Vera Tang explained.
As Joe Di and the others reminisced, Jack Nie instinctively began to slowly retreat. If he could reach a certain distance, he still had an escape talisman that could take him out of Celestial Beyond.
But just as he stepped back a few paces, a handprint of divine essence grabbed him and lifted him up.
"Fellow Daoist Di, we actually have no..."
Jack Nie's words abruptly stopped, and a look of utter despair appeared in his eyes—his Dao Foundation had been destroyed by Joe Di's divine handprint. Not only that, his Spiritual Sea was also beginning to collapse under Joe Di's grip.
Blood streamed from his seven apertures, yet Jack Nie didn't utter a single cry. He was finished—completely finished.
"Why... why..." At this moment, Jack Nie could only mutter the word 'why.'
Joe Di sneered, "Because your Nie Clan captured my friend. Why do you think?"
After saying this, Joe Di tossed Jack Nie into the air above the ruins of the Celestial Lord's Mansion. Several long blades howled forth, pinning Jack Nie in the void.
Not only were Vera Tang, Charlotte Ling, and Tang Xitan stunned—even the cultivators watching from afar were speechless. Was this a Third Step powerhouse? If not, how could someone find traces in the void of Celestial Beyond and pin someone there?
"Go on," Joe Di said gravely. The name Damian Ning was no stranger to him; he'd heard it countless times. For Yvette Yi's parents to be friends with Damian Ning, they were clearly extraordinary.
Yvette Yi rubbed her eyes and continued, "Senior Damian Ning was highly respected in Celestial Beyond before the Creation War. Much of Celestial Beyond's territory belonged to him. After my parents followed Damian Ning into the war, they brought us to Celestial Beyond, where we lived in the best places. But after that battle, I never saw my parents again. Celestial Beyond is no longer what it once was, and I can barely survive here. I desperately want to return to Alliance Star..."
Yvette Yi wanted to search for her parents, but being suppressed in this corner of Celestial Beyond, hoping to improve her cultivation was just a dream.
Joe Di understood Yvette Yi's feelings and asked, "Do you know why the powerhouses from Celestial Beyond went to Alliance Star?"
Yvette Yi blurted out, "They went for the Cosmic Essence."
This was what she had promised Yvette Yi earlier, and now she was fulfilling that promise.
"Sister Vera, you still have your ring?" Yvette Yi was both excited and amazed. After being imprisoned in the dungeon of Celestial Beyond's Lord's Mansion, how could the ring possibly remain?
Joe Di knew this was a difficult question for Vera Tang to answer, so he proactively interrupted Yvette Yi. "Junior Sister Yi, it's rare to meet a cultivator as fearless as you. You're truly remarkable. If you ever need my help in the future, I will be there for you."
Clearly, Vera Tang possessed a top-tier treasure that could be hidden within her Spiritual Sea, which was how she managed to keep both her own and Tammy Tang's belongings safe. Otherwise, they would have long been confiscated.
Anything that could be hidden in the Spiritual Sea, Joe Di naturally wouldn't let Vera Tang reveal its secret here.
Hearing Joe Di's words, Yvette Yi suddenly knelt down, "Brother Di, I do have a matter I wish to ask for your help with."
"Go ahead," Joe Di nodded. He had already taken a liking to Yvette Yi.
Yvette Yi's voice trembled as she spoke, "Sister Vera asked me for this favor, and at first I didn't dare mention it. But after seeing Brother Di effortlessly crush that Lord, I thought maybe you could help me..."
Joe Di didn't mind Yvette Yi's request. For most cultivators, it would be too daunting to even speak up. The Lord of Celestial Beyond, plus a group of half-step Dao Integration and Hunyuan cultivators—who would dare offend such people in Celestial Beyond?
"Yes," Yvette Yi quickly replied. "Actually, I'm from Alliance Star..."
"Alliance Star? Is that the Alliance Star Jack Nie mentioned earlier? The place where the Nie Clan and Celestial Beyond's powerhouses went?" Joe Di immediately interrupted Yvette Yi to ask.
Yvette Yi nodded vigorously. "Yes, Brother Di. My father is Yi Sa, the Star Lord of Alliance Star, and my mother is Shu You. Back then, they became friends with Damian Ning, and even followed him into the Creation War..."
"The Creation War? Is that the war you mentioned earlier?" Joe Di looked toward Charlotte Ling and Vera Tang.
Vera Tang wasn't entirely sure. After coming out of seclusion, all she knew was that her brother never returned because of a great war.
Charlotte Ling nodded. "Yes, that war is also called the Creation War. It's said that every Dao Integration cultivator had to participate. Even if they didn't, they'd be swept into it. That's why after the Creation War, there were no more Third Step cultivators. Even those who survived were only Dao Integration cultivators."
"Go on," Joe Di said gravely. The name Damian Ning was no stranger to him; he'd heard it countless times. For Yvette Yi's parents to be friends with Damian Ning, they were clearly extraordinary.
Yvette Yi rubbed her eyes and continued, "Senior Damian Ning was highly respected in Celestial Beyond before the Creation War. Much of Celestial Beyond's territory belonged to him. After my parents followed Damian Ning into the war, they brought us to Celestial Beyond, where we lived in the best places. But after that battle, I never saw my parents again. Celestial Beyond is no longer what it once was, and I can barely survive here. I desperately want to return to Alliance Star..."
Yvette Yi wanted to search for her parents, but being suppressed in this corner of Celestial Beyond, hoping to improve her cultivation was just a dream.
Joe Di understood Yvette Yi's feelings and asked, "Do you know why the powerhouses from Celestial Beyond went to Alliance Star?"
Yvette Yi blurted out, "They went for the Cosmic Essence."