A hunchbacked man had just walked up to the entrance of Cave Residence No. 7 when he saw Joe Di emerge from within.
He was momentarily stunned. How could Joe Di possibly come out? Because he was a step too slow, he hadn't intercepted Joe Di, and Joe Di had already been taken away by the people from Frostfall Mountain.
Frostfall Mountain naturally couldn't compare to Mei One Domain, but it was still no simple existence. He hadn't dared to rush into Frostfall Mountain alone. After consulting the Domain Lord, he immediately came to Frostfall Mountain hoping to take Joe Di away.
He already had a reason: as the champion of the True Domain Prodigy Trials, Joe Di was invited to attend the celebration banquet following the first round of competition.
What surprised him was that just as he arrived outside the Frostfall Mountain's encampment, Joe Di came out. Could it be that Frostfall Mountain hadn't tried to force Joe Di to reveal his secrets?
"Red Tassel Joe, I have something to discuss with you. Would you mind stepping aside for a word?" The hunchbacked man quickly regained his composure and spoke to Joe Di in a gentle manner.
"Who are you?" Joe Di's divine sense fell upon the hunchbacked man. With his eleventh-level divine sense, he easily noticed a restriction on the hunchback's body—a control seal, which meant that if the hunchback resisted in any way, the person who placed the seal could instantly reduce him to ashes.
"My name is Gus Gou," the hunchback replied respectfully.
"In that case, lead the way." Even though Gus Gou's killing intent was deeply concealed, it was still impossible to hide from Joe Di's eleventh-level divine sense. Gus Gou was only at the first stage of Domain Realm, so Joe Di didn't pay him any mind. He also wanted to know who was pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Gus Gou was briefly taken aback. Was Joe Di some kind of fool? Otherwise, how could he agree so easily to his request? Gus Gou had been prepared to suppress Joe Di by force if he refused, and then take him away. Now, before he had even released his aura, Joe Di had already let him lead the way.
"What, you don't want to lead the way? If not, I'll just go back to sleep." Joe Di snorted.
Gus Gou snapped back to reality and hurriedly said, "Red Tassel Joe, please follow me."
Gus Gou thought, if Joe Di refused to leave the Ascension Rest Lodge, he would still have to use force. As long as he got Joe Di out of the lodge, Joe Di would be at his mercy.
But Joe Di didn't even hesitate and simply followed him out of the Ascension Rest Lodge. Gus Gou was truly at a loss. He couldn't understand how a cultivator like Joe Di had managed to survive until now.
Soon, Gus Gou realized there was even more he couldn't understand. As he walked toward the outskirts of Ascension City, Joe Di kept following him. Even after he left the city, Joe Di was still right behind him.
"You can walk faster now. At your pace, when will we ever get far enough from Ascension City to find a place where others' divine sense can't reach us?" Once outside the city, Joe Di finally couldn't help but speak up.
Gus Gou paused, raising his head to look at Joe Di with bewildered eyes. For the first time, he felt completely disoriented. What was going on here? Wasn't Joe Di supposed to be unwilling to leave, forced out by him? How had it turned into him being too slow and getting looked down on by Joe Di?
"Alright, I'm old. I have to put in some effort if I want to go faster." After saying this, Gus Gou's figure turned into a blur.
He didn't know where Joe Di got his courage, but since Joe Di had it, he was sure to keep following him.
Half an hour passed. When Gus Gou stopped, he was shocked to find Joe Di standing not far from him.
"You..." Gus Gou could no longer contain his shock and stared at Joe Di, suddenly feeling uneasy. Could he really take out Joe Di?
Joe Di took a few steps forward, and Gus Gou instinctively retreated a few steps. He quickly realized he shouldn't have backed away.
"Gus Gou, who sent you to kill me?" Joe Di stopped and looked at Gus Gou, somewhat speechless.
"You know I'm here to kill you, yet you still came out with me?" Gus Gou stared at Joe Di in disbelief. He absolutely refused to believe that a cultivator under two hundred years old could be his match.
Joe Di chuckled, "You, a mere first-stage Domain Realm cultivator with a destruction seal locking up your body, think you can kill me? I want to ask you, what gives you the guts to lure me out?"
Gus Gou was completely thrown off. Ever since Joe Di had followed him out of the Ascension Rest Lodge, he'd had a feeling that Joe Di wasn't an idiot. Now he finally understood—the fool was himself. Joe Di could see through both his strength and the seal in his body. Even Gus Gou couldn't convince himself that Joe Di couldn't beat him.
Seeing Gus Gou remain silent, Joe Di spoke again, "If you tell the truth, I might consider breaking the seal in your body and setting you free. If you refuse, don't blame me for taking action. As for who sent you, with your cowardly appearance, I could probably ask anyone and find out."
Hearing Joe Di's words, Gus Gou not only lost his fighting spirit, but his eyes revealed a bleak sadness. He muttered, "I'm a dog. I'm Barton May's dog. Whoever he wants me to bite, I bite... Haha, I really am just a dog."
As if sensing he had no way out today, Gus Gou's words seemed to touch the last shred of his self-respect. He burst into wild laughter, laughing so hard that tears came to his eyes.
So it was that bastard Barton May. Joe Di knew about Barton May—rumored to be the strongest in the True Domain, at the ninth stage of Domain Realm. He was also the Domain Lord of May One Domain, and apparently the third-ranked contender in the True Domain Prodigy Trials, Jason May, was his son.
"You're wrong." Joe Di suddenly interrupted Gus Gou's hysterical laughter.
Gus Gou finally snapped out of his frenzy, his eyes once again bewildered as he looked at Joe Di. "Where am I wrong?"
Joe Di chuckled, "You're not a dog, because you're even less than a dog. A dog can at least find bones to eat on its own, but you don't even have that right."
"That's right, I'm even less than a dog..." Gus Gou muttered again.
In the past, whenever his master told him to bite someone, he would just rush up and bite, because he could always succeed. But now, when he realized the person he was supposed to bite was far stronger than him, the support in his heart finally collapsed.
"Tell me your story. If it can stir a bit of sympathy in me, I might consider breaking the seal in your body for you," Joe Di said calmly.
It wasn't that Joe Di wanted to play the good guy, but he felt Gus Gou had been forcibly imprisoned by Barton May. If he could win Gus Gou over, he'd have another helper when it came time to take Barton May down.
Barton May was at the ninth stage of Domain Realm and the strongest in the True Domain. Joe Di wasn't confident he could take this guy head-on. If he could turn Gus Gou into an ally, he'd have a better chance of catching Barton May off guard.
In this place called True Domain, Joe Di believed that as long as he took out Barton May, no one else would pose a threat to him.
Gus Gou shook his head. "You can't break my seal. Only Barton May can. If I don't kill you today, I don't plan on going back alive—because going back means death anyway."
"Haha..." Joe Di laughed heartily. "Gus Gou, I think you've been called a dog for so long that you've lost your basic sense. Since I can see your seal at a glance—and even tell it's a linked seal between your soul and your core—I can break it for you."
"You..." Gus Gou stared at Joe Di in shock. To spot that his seal originated from the soul at a glance—how strong did one's divine sense have to be for that?
He was certain—even Barton May didn't have that kind of ability.
"It's up to you. If you still refuse, then forget it—I don't have time to waste on your nonsense," Joe Di said impatiently.
Gus Gou let out a long sigh. "Now I finally understand why Han Wushui from Frostfall Mountain let you walk out of Cave Residence No. 7 so easily—it's because he didn't have the power to keep you there."
"You're wrong again. It's not that he couldn't keep me—it's that I'm too kindhearted, and I haven't decided to kill everyone in Frostfall Mountain yet." Joe Di chuckled.
Gus Gou nodded. He believed Joe Di's words.
Joe Di didn't say anything more. He was waiting for Gus Gou to speak.
After two or three minutes, Gus Gou finally spoke. "In the True Domain, the number one domain used to be called Kun One Domain. Its Domain Lord was Gerard Jue—not only the strongest in Kun One Domain, but in all of True Domain. One day, a cultivator named Barton May arrived in Kun One Domain. He said he was from the May Family in the True Domain, and that he'd obtained a Seven-Colored Mirror Peach he wanted to gift to the Domain Lord..."
Joe Di sighed. Barton May was willing to pay a heavy price. Even though he still had a few Seven-Colored Mirror Peaches on him, in truth, such things were extremely rare and hard to come by. The ones he had weren't of the highest quality, since they were from a newly transplanted tree.
Any cultivator—especially older ones—couldn't resist the allure of a Seven-Colored Mirror Peach. Barton May's gift was simply impossible to refuse.
"Gerard Jue didn't suspect anything, because Kun One Domain was just too powerful. He gathered the sect elders to welcome Barton May and his peach..." A flash of pain crossed Gus Gou's eyes. "Once all the elders were assembled in the great hall, Barton May opened the jade box. Inside was a peach, but it wasn't a Seven-Colored Mirror Peach—it was a Moonmirror Peach..."
"That's bad," Joe Di blurted out instinctively. Others might not know about the Moonmirror Peach, but he knew all too well. Its value far surpassed that of the Seven-Colored Mirror Peach. According to the World Tome, it was a spiritual fruit containing a trace of the laws of time—an extremely rare treasure even in the Immortal Realm. This peach could grant insights into temporal powers, far beyond what he could access at his current level.
However, upon first encountering the Moonmirror Peach, one would experience an illusion—as if stepping into a mirror, caught in a temporal stasis. The name 'Moonmirror Peach' comes from this effect, like a flower in the mirror or the moon reflected in water.
Gus Gou paid no attention to Joe Di's words and continued, "The moment everyone—including the Domain Lord—saw the Moonmirror Peach, they fell into stasis. Barton May struck without warning and, in just two breaths, slaughtered all the top cultivators of Kun One Domain."
"So why was Barton May unharmed? And who are you, how do you know all this so clearly?" Joe Di stared at Gus Gou.
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)