As Joe Di unleashed the sixth and seventh strikes of his Time's Third Loom simultaneously, the blade waves that had been suppressed by Sterling Night's severing of the spacetime laws surged forth once again. In the blink of an eye, they rose, forming a tide of blade force nearly a hundred million feet high. The torrent of blade momentum crashed down with the grandeur of a world torn asunder, its power overwhelming and majestic.
The crushing aura swept in from the primordial chaos along with Joe Di's blade tide. Sterling Night's face turned deathly pale. At this moment, he had only two choices: first, to use the brief window when Jack Quill's billions of water waves could withstand Joe Di's terrifying blade tide to cast a forbidden technique and escape; second, to burn his essence blood and dao resonance to weaken Joe Di's blade tide with the Void Shears, giving Jack Quill a chance to catch his breath and block Joe Di's devastating divine blade waves, so that the Soulfall Sovereign could unleash the second and third stages of the Soulfall Lock...
Everyone knew that the Soulfall Sovereign's true power lay in the second and third stages of the Soulfall Lock.
Sterling Night made his decision quickly. He did not choose to flee; instead, he burned his essence blood and dao resonance, frantically unleashing the Void Shears once more.
The Void Shears carved two explosive traces of dao resonance through the void, crashing into the blade waves of Joe Di's Time's Third Loom.
Joe Di was surprised to see that Sterling Night did not run away; he saw him in a new light. In Joe Di's view, Sterling Night should have been the first to escape, since after the collision of the blade tide and Jack Quill's water waves, Sterling Night would have the best chance to get away.
However, if Sterling Night thought he could escape, he was mistaken. Joe Di had already prepared Fate's Loom, and he didn't even intend to use the true Time Bow—he only planned to use the Creation Brush to draw out the spacetime dao resonance of Fate's Loom. With his current strength, killing Sterling Night required no real use of the Fate's Loom bow and arrow. If Sterling Night dared to flee, he would be the first to die.
Jack Quill was also worried that Sterling Night might flee. Sensing that Sterling Night did not run but instead burned his essence blood and dao resonance to unleash the Void Shears against Joe Di's blade tide, Jack Quill breathed a sigh of relief and silently praised Sterling Night for holding his ground.
To cross the river before it's bridged, to strike the current—this was the meaning here. Sterling Night chose the perfect moment. Jack Quill, already at the forefront of the blade tide, could not escape even if he wanted to, so he too unleashed his dao resonance in a furious sweep. The water waves summoned by the White Gourd churned with such force that it seemed as if chaos itself was being shattered.
Boom! Billions of water waves collided with Joe Di's blade tide, shattering the void with countless fragments of dao resonance and cosmic laws. Half of the hundred-million-foot blade tide was instantly cut down, as if a silver vase had just burst. The water waves from Jack Quill's White Gourd were blasted into endless droplets, scattered without end...
Though the tidal blade waves were knocked down by the surging water, Jack Quill’s torrent was shattered into fragments. Jack Quill’s face turned deathly pale. He had expected that, even if his Void Azure Flask couldn't withstand Joe Di’s blade tide, it would at least slow the momentum. At that moment, Jack Quill would seize the chance to break free from Joe Di’s killing intent.
As long as he escaped Joe Di’s blade tide, Jack Quill could attack or retreat at will, never again needing to face such a terrifying opponent head-on.
In truth, when Sterling Night had a chance to flee and Jack Quill was forced to face Joe Di’s endless blade waves alone, regret had already filled his heart. He should never have pushed himself into such a desperate situation. Fortunately, Sterling Night hadn't escaped.
The torrent was shattered by the blade tide. The suffocating aura of death and Joe Di’s domain pressed down, so much so that Jack Quill was ready to close his eyes in despair. Joe Di was simply too terrifying. Even with Sterling Night’s intervention, Joe Di’s blade tide still crushed his divine arts, placing him squarely beneath the shadow of death. In this moment, he could only pin his hopes on the Soulfall Sovereign, praying that the Soulfall Sovereign’s reputation was not mere bluster.
The Soulfall Sovereign, too, was deeply shaken. From beginning to end, he had never regarded Joe Di as a true threat. What he coveted was only Joe Di’s mastery of arrays.
Yet his Soulfall Lock’s first bind—‘Soulfall Lock: First Bind’—struck Joe Di as if cast into the sea, yielding no response at all. Soulfall Sovereign frowned. Joe Di’s power was clearly not limited to the Unity Realm. That wretch had claimed Joe Di was only at Unity, nearly costing him his life.
Soulfall Sovereign had no thought of running. His Soulfall Lock’s Dao rhythm surged severalfold, Dao resonance swirling around him.
“Soulfall Lock: Second Bind!” The second stage of the Soulfall Lock crashed toward Joe Di.
No one had ever escaped his Soulfall Lock’s first three binds, for each stage’s power multiplied upon the last.
Just as Joe Di was about to finish off Jack Quill, his soul suddenly trembled—his surrounding Dao resonance scattering chaotically, and the blade tide locking onto Jack Quill’s aura collapsed.
As Joe Di’s blade tide crashed down, Jack Quill turned and fled without hesitation.
Sterling Night, however, never considered running. While Soulfall Sovereign battled Joe Di, Sterling Night continued to gather his strength, determined to risk half his life to seriously injure Joe Di first.
He knew well the Soulfall Sovereign’s methods—no one had ever emerged unscathed from the Soulfall Lock’s three binds. Even if Joe Di was stronger than others and somehow survived the Soulfall Lock, he would never withstand Sterling Night’s Void Shears, the ultimate killing technique: Oblivion of the Void!
Yet Joe Di paid no further attention to Soulfall Sovereign. The first three binds of the Soulfall Lock were indeed terrifying, but unfortunately for Soulfall Sovereign, he had encountered Joe Di.
If it were any ordinary cultivator, blocking the three binds of the Soulfall Lock would come at a tremendous cost. But after Joe Di stepped into the Creation Realm, under the Grand Law, the Soulfall Lock’s soul-attacking technique was instantly detected and bound by Joe Di’s cosmic rules.
The Soulfall Lock’s divine art was unlike others. With most techniques, even if you blocked the first stage, there would always be more to follow—just as Sterling Night could continually unleash his Void Shears. But once the first two binds of the Soulfall Lock were locked down, the subsequent power was greatly diminished, unable to threaten Joe Di at all.
Joe Di summoned the Creation Brush, sweeping out the character ‘Domain’ into the vast void. Instantly, a colossal longbow emerged from the Creation Brush. With a flick of his hand, a Dao resonance arrow landed on the bowstring. The bow was drawn, and the arrow gathered boundless killing intent.
Jack Quill, frantically fleeing, suddenly felt his whole body tighten—as if an invisible domain formed by both divine sense and physical barriers had suddenly appeared before him. Before he could comprehend what was happening, a terrifying killing intent locked onto him.
Jack Quill dared not even look back, hastily shouting, “Daoist Joe, have mercy!”
He was certain the Soulfall Sovereign’s Soulfall Lock hadn’t trapped Joe Di—otherwise, how could he feel this imminent death? He should have escaped long ago, so he hurried to beg for mercy.
Two looms of fate, weaving the boundaries of life and death. The arrow flies—Jack Quill is its mark!
"Thud!" Jack Quill’s plea was cut short by a guttural roar as blood sprayed from his chest. In the next instant, Joe Di’s Dao resonance arrow pinned him to the void, his head drooping lifelessly. The white gourd fell at his feet, swaying back and forth.
A massive lock shadow appeared deep within Joe Di’s consciousness. It solidified at lightning speed, as if ready to crash down at any moment and obliterate his soul.
Even before the lock shadow descended, Joe Di’s soul began to tremble uncontrollably.
Tens of millions of feet of blade tide fell, and Joe Di could no longer spare a thought for killing Jack Quill. With a flick of his will, law after law formed new Grand Laws, thoroughly shielding Joe Di’s soul.
The new Grand Laws had just coalesced when Soulfall Sovereign’s third bind crashed down—“Soulfall Lock: Third Bind!”
In this recent seclusion, Soulfall Sovereign had already refined most of the fourth lock. Though he couldn’t unleash its full power, he was certain—even if the first three binds failed to kill Joe Di, the fourth would be inescapable.
But there were truly few who had ever survived the first three binds.
No, as Soulfall Sovereign’s third bind descended, he sensed his second bind had been restrained. What was happening...?
Soulfall Sovereign’s expression changed drastically. Each of his Soulfall Lock’s three binds was several times stronger than the last, yet each relied on the previous stage’s foundation. Now, Joe Di had silently restrained his second bind—what meaning did the third even hold?
What was going on? No one had ever blocked his second bind with mere divine sense techniques.
Jack Quill, however, was overjoyed. Soulfall Sovereign had stopped Joe Di—he could finally breathe a sigh of relief. If he didn’t escape now, when would he?