When Joe Di saw the weathered woman before him, he immediately remembered who she was—Serena Heng. She was the one he had rescued from the Wormhole Gate long ago; he hadn't expected her to still be here.
"Brother Di..." Shane Rivers also walked over and cupped his fists toward Joe Di.
His seniority far surpassed Joe Di's, yet Joe Di was the first to leave the Wormhole Gate’s guard zone, and it was said he even escaped the pursuit of Richard Ni and William Sha. At this moment, Shane Rivers understood better than anyone—Joe Di's strength was leagues above his own. What he couldn't comprehend was why Joe Di had returned from the Wormhole Gate.
He was even more curious about how Joe Di had escaped from Richard Ni and William Sha. He was certain that, as soon as Joe Di appeared in the Wormhole Gate’s guard zone, Richard Ni and William Sha would be notified immediately.
"Captain Shane, why are you still here at the Wormhole Gate after all this time?" Joe Di asked, puzzled.
In reality, it wasn’t unusual for a cultivator to be trapped in the Wormhole Gate’s guard zone for tens of thousands—or even hundreds of thousands—of years. But Shane Rivers was the captain of the North District. As a captain, after so many years, he should have accumulated enough merit to leave. Even if he couldn’t reach Leapgate City, he should have at least left the Wormhole Gate’s guard zone.
With Joe Di's keen eyes, he could instantly see that Shane Rivers was suffering from severe hidden injuries, his vitality depleted, and his spirit steadily declining. This made Joe Di even more confused, as cultivators who had just entered the Dao Domain typically experienced a continual rise in vitality and spirit. Shane Rivers, however, was not only failing to improve—he was deteriorating.
No, it wasn’t just Shane Rivers—Serena Heng was in the same condition.
A trace of sorrow flickered in Shane Rivers's eyes, but he only shook his head in silence. The other cultivators, having heard of Joe Di's formidable reputation, also remained quiet at this moment.
Joe Di looked at Serena Heng. After hesitating, Serena gritted her teeth and said, "Brother Di, after you left, Richard Ni made Captain Shane guard the Wormhole Gate year-round. All these years, Captain Shane has barely had any rest..."
Though she greatly feared Richard Ni, Serena Heng still called him by name.
"You mean all these years, Captain Shane has been guarding the Wormhole Gate without any rest?" Joe Di asked in shock.
If it were just a few thousand years of guarding this place, even he would have found it hard to endure.
Shane Rivers hurriedly explained, "Although I’ve been here all this time, I get along well with many cultivators who come here. I can still cultivate here, and most of the time I don’t need to fight off insect swarms."
Joe Di finally understood why Shane Rivers looked the way he did. Years spent fighting insects at the Wormhole Gate’s entrance—how could anyone remain unscathed? It seemed Serena Heng was suffering the same fate.
"Have you also been here all this time?" Joe Di asked Serena Heng.
Serena Heng nodded. "Yes. Fortunately, with Captain Shane here, I’ve been able to rest often. Richard Ni hasn’t come by recently—maybe he’s forgotten about us."
"I’m sorry. This is all my fault," Joe Di said, realizing why Shane Rivers and Serena Heng had been left here—it was surely the result of Richard Ni and William Sha’s anger, taken out on them.
"Brother Di, if you hadn’t saved me, I would have died in the Wormhole Gate long ago," Serena Heng quickly replied.
She truly held no resentment toward Joe Di. If not for his rescue, she would have died in the Wormhole Gate by now. Even if she had survived, life inside was nothing but torment.
"No, this has nothing to do with you. As long as something happens during my time guarding the North District, I’m always the one to take the blame," Shane Rivers quickly said.
Joe Di waved his hand, understanding Shane Rivers’s meaning. In fact, the person Shane mentioned—Ni Luan—was the one he had dealt with himself.
"Let’s go. I plan to leave here, and you two should come with me," Joe Di said, heading toward the sealed defense array. He intended to tear it open directly.
Ever since Joe Di encountered that creature with a human head and insect body in the Wormhole Gate, he suspected that the insects could break into the Dao Domain at any time. Why they hadn’t done so yet was still a mystery to him.
"Brother Di, I’ll go with you," Serena Heng said without hesitation. Even if it meant falling, it was better than staying here with no hope.
Shane Rivers gritted his teeth. "I’ll go too."
He knew very well that even with occasional rest, if things continued like this, he’d either die to the insects or succumb to exhaustion.
Just as Joe Di was about to tear open the defense array, it automatically opened on its own.
What puzzled Joe Di was that six people entered from outside the array—three men and three women. He recognized at least three of them. Of course, he knew Richard Ni; besides him, there were two men whom Joe Di didn’t know. Richard Ni was now at late Transformation Realm, one of the men was at half-step Prime Realm, and the other was also at late Transformation Realm.
But what shocked Joe Di most were the three women. One of them was Manna Zhen, the girl who had haunted his dreams in his youth. After her family’s misfortune and his realization of her true nature, Joe Di had long since forgotten her. He never expected Manna Zhen to appear in the Dao Domain.
Even with the best talent, it should take tens of thousands—if not hundreds of thousands—of years to travel from the cultivation world to the Dao Domain. Yet, not even ten thousand years had passed, and Manna Zhen was already here. Not only that, her cultivation was at mid-stage Dao Forging.
Joe Di didn’t believe everyone could be like him and obtain the Ninth Prime Law. The Ninth Prime Law was unique in the vast universe—there was only one.
What surprised Joe Di even more was another woman, dressed in pale blue robes, whose beauty surpassed even Manna Zhen’s.
The key was that, when Joe Di first met this woman, she was still sleeping in a coffin. The woman before him was the very one who had been in a deep slumber on Fairy Star.
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He remembered seeing her awaken from the jade coffin, only to pass out again after striking a pillar in the great hall with her blade.
When he woke up, he found himself on the Polar Night Continent. Joe Di had always suspected his arrival there was related to this woman, but he’d never encountered her again until now.
Richard Ni was ecstatic upon seeing Joe Di—his nemesis had appeared right before him, saving him all the trouble.
Richard Ni didn’t act immediately; there were top-tier figures present whom he dared not provoke.
At this moment, Joe Di’s hair was disheveled, his body filthy and reeking of blood. His aura was weak, and anyone could see how haggard he was.
Manna Zhen didn’t recognize Joe Di at first glance, but the woman standing beside her—Ruby Lan—did. She looked at Joe Di in astonishment. "It’s you?"
Joe Di cupped his fists and said, "Thank you, Senior Sister, for saving my life. Yes, it’s me."
Seeing Ruby Lan here, Joe Di didn’t need to ask—he could guess that it was indeed this woman in pale blue who had saved him. Now, her cultivation was nearly equal to his, with her Prime Realm perfected, perhaps even at half-step Hunyuan Realm.
"I never imagined you had the talent to ascend to the Dao Domain," Ruby Lan exclaimed, regaining her composure. She knew Joe Di’s aptitude and truly couldn’t fathom how he had managed to ascend.
Manna Zhen finally recognized Joe Di. She stared at him in shock for a long moment before asking, "Are you Joe Di?"
Joe Di smiled. "Congratulations, Manna Zhen."
The reason Joe Di congratulated Manna Zhen was not only because she had reached the Dao Domain, but also because, after reaching mid-stage Dao Forging, her foundation was still solid.
A strange emotion flickered in Manna Zhen’s eyes. She admired Joe Di for reaching the Dao Domain within ten thousand years. Yet she knew, from today onward, Joe Di would never be able to keep pace with her. Now, she stood before him like a fairy, having succeeded in Dao Forging. Seeing Joe Di so dirty and disheveled, she wondered if he felt a sense of inferiority.
(Updates have been unstable these past few days. That’s all for today—good night, friends!)