If Hannah Bei hadn’t suddenly rushed in, Jaxon Di was certain he would have been killed. Hannah Bei risked her life to save him, leaving a mark deep in his heart. From the bottom of his heart, he also hoped that his father would allow Hannah Bei to join them on their journey.
Joe Di looked at Jaxon Di and Hannah Bei in puzzlement. "With your cultivation level, how did you manage to reach this place?"
Not to mention that both Jaxon Di and Cassie Cao are at the Dao Integration Realm—even if they were both at the Creation Realm, it’s unlikely they could easily arrive at this place.
Jaxon Di immediately said, "I came from the Star Dao Sect in the Sheji Divine Realm. I found celestial script on a tortoise shell in the sect's Dao Pavilion, and followed the location indicated. I was then teleported here..."
As he spoke, Jaxon Di had already taken out the ancient tortoise shell, worn by countless ages.
Almost as soon as Jaxon Di produced the tortoise shell, Joe Di waved his hand, sending out countless formation flags. In an instant, the flags formed a protective array that shielded Jaxon Di completely.
Boom! A chillingly pale handprint slammed into the protective array Joe Di had set up, causing the surroundings to tremble violently.
Only then did Charles Bei and the other two react. What they saw was a flash of white light rushing into the Reincarnation Bridge at incredible speed, vanishing from sight.
"This..." Jaxon Di stared blankly in the direction the white light disappeared. If his father hadn’t acted so quickly, the tortoise shell in his hand would surely have been snatched away.
"Brother Di..." Charles Bei’s expression grew grave.
Joe Di spoke, "This was a premeditated act. The one who escaped just now was a remnant soul. If I’m not mistaken, this tortoise shell belonged to that remnant soul, and it’s extremely formidable."
The reason Joe Di said the remnant soul was formidable was because it knew it was about to perish, so it deliberately placed the tortoise shell somewhere in the Sheji Divine Realm, intending to retrieve it after reincarnation. If it failed to return, a successor could deliver the shell to a designated place for it. Of course, the contingency was just in case.
What Joe Di hadn’t expected was that the contingency plan was truly needed, because the remnant soul really couldn’t return.
With the disappearance of the Heavenly Dao Reincarnation Bridge, all cycles of reincarnation are now under Chi Yao’s control.
The remnant soul neither wanted nor dared to choose the Lesser Reincarnation, so it was trapped before the Five Elements Universe's cycle of reincarnation. It refused the lesser cycle, knowing that if it did, it would never regain its former power, nor even find the tortoise shell. It also feared that if it did, Chi Yao might detect its existence.
For a remnant soul to arrive at the threshold of the Heavenly Dao Reincarnation and still remember the Lesser Reincarnation, with its memories intact—this was truly extraordinary.
Later, when Joe Di constructed the Reincarnation Bridge, the remnant soul watched the entire process from the sidelines, not daring to cross in front of him. Originally, it planned to wait until Joe Di left before entering reincarnation, but before Joe Di left, Jaxon Di produced the tortoise shell, driving the remnant soul into a frenzy of obsession and prompting it to strike.
Under normal circumstances, the remnant soul would have succeeded. Unfortunately, it encountered Joe Di, who had pioneered a new path in array formation and completed the protective array the moment he sensed danger.
As for why it hadn’t tried to seize the shell earlier, perhaps it hadn’t confirmed whether Jaxon Di truly possessed it. Even if it had, stealing it would have been futile—this was Charles Bei’s territory, governed by a false Heavenly Dao, and there was nowhere for the soul to hide.
Joe Di’s gaze fell upon the ancient tortoise shell. The inscription was barely legible: ‘Sheji Divine Realm, altar of the Heavenly Dao, Sheji Ten-Thousand Flower Garden...’
Beyond that, nothing could be made out. In truth, Joe Di knew it wasn’t that the inscription had faded—it simply hadn’t existed.
Joe Di swept his divine sense over the shell. The same few characters appeared, and even as his sense penetrated the shell, nothing changed—it was just an ancient tortoise shell.
When Joe Di opened his Dao Eyes to examine the shell again, strands of Dao resonance were captured by his gaze. Faintly, he saw the outline of a vast universe, enveloped by a powerful aura of the Great Dao.
The two Dao-infused characters ‘Heavenly Profound’ were wrapped in endless resonance, the aura seemingly even more potent than the rules of the Genesis Nest.
"This is at least a Creation-level treasure, perhaps even greater. But what the characters ‘Heavenly Profound’ mean, I do not know..." Joe Di said solemnly.
Charles Bei suddenly spoke, "The one who escaped just now—I suspect his name is Di Buyan. His legendary artifact was ‘Heavenly Profound,’ and the universe he forged was also called ‘Heavenly Profound.’ He had another fearsome treasure, the Chaos Gate..."
Chaos Gate? Joe Di mused inwardly. What a coincidence—the Chaos Gate was now in his possession. It had been used by Xiangchen Chen to suppress Chi Yao, but not only had Chi Yao escaped, Joe Di had also acquired the Chaos Gate. Di Buyan’s fate was truly tragic—not only was he slain and forced into reincarnation, but his artifact, the Chaos Gate, had been taken by Xiangchen Chen. It seemed likely that Di Buyan’s death was connected to Xiangchen Chen.
"Let’s go. We’ll head to Genesis City now. The contest for the sacred seats in Genesis City should last a while, but I must arrive early." Joe Di estimated that Emperor Ye and Nick Ning were still in the Genesis Nest, and he absolutely could not allow Chi Yao to reach Genesis City first and wreak havoc.
If Chi Yao arrived at Genesis City and unleashed destruction, then even with Joe Di, Emperor Ye, and Nick Ning at their strongest, they could not secure a foothold for the Five Elements Universe.
Outside Genesis City, the cosmic Sacred Seat Plaza continued to expand. At this moment, not only had the outer district of Genesis City grown, but half of the inner district had vanished.
Zhao, who had claimed the cosmic Debate Dao seat for Joe Di, was now drenched in blood, barely able to stand, his aura utterly depleted. As for the two cosmic Debate Dao seats Joe Di had protected with arrays, those formations had long since been shattered. No one had taken those seats; instead, several people were nailed to them in the void.
Besides those cultivators pinned in the void, there were also two twin-tailed duos—one black, one white—nailed in place. Blood dripped from the void; clearly, someone was making a brutal display of power.
The two twin-tailed duos were still alive, but at least half of the pinned cultivators had already perished.
A man with a chiseled, statue-like face stood atop Zhao’s Dao seat. His cold gaze and sculpted features made him seem less like a living person and more like a manifestation of Dao itself. Only the wild star-topknot on his head lent him a hint of vitality.
In front of Zhao stood another man—a middle-aged cultivator with disheveled hair, blocking the statue-faced man’s advance.
“Jin Zai, you are a master of your own universe. Are you really going to stop me, Ju Fen, from taking my revenge? I doubt you have the power to stand in my way.” The statue-faced man’s voice was as icy as his gaze, devoid of life.
It was Jin Zai who stopped Ju Fen from killing Zhao. If not for Jin Zai, Zhao would have already been slain for occupying Joe Di’s seat.
Jin Zai’s scalp tingled. He knew he was no match for the formidable man before him. But he had promised Joe Di: if anyone tried to seize Joe Di’s seat, Jin Zai would intervene, or their alliance would be in jeopardy.
Though this situation wasn’t strictly part of his vow, Jin Zai still had to step forward. He had witnessed Joe Di’s strength and potential firsthand, and knew Joe Di was no weaker than the man before him. Unfortunately, Joe Di was not present.
Gritting his teeth, Jin Zai cupped his fists. "Ju Fen, Zhao is an old acquaintance of mine. Why not claim the seat and spare him?"
Ju Fen let out a chilling laugh. "Joe Di killed Yu Xue of my Baoquan Universe and seized my universe’s Vast Iron Crystal. You want me to spare his people? If you wish to die, then die together!"
Before his words faded, the vast space was engulfed by a colossal demon cudgel. Jin Zai hadn’t even moved, but under the oppressive force, his domain crackled and groaned.
Jin Yu’s expression changed, and he hurriedly raised his Great Chaos Ruler, layering Dao resonance walls in defense. He dared not fight Ju Fen directly, hoping only to block this attack and reconsider.
“Wait, who set up the Grand Sealing Array here?” As soon as Joe Di reached the outskirts of Genesis City, he sensed something was amiss. Sealing arrays were normal, but this one locked down the city from the inside, preventing cultivators from leaving.
Could it be that entering or leaving Genesis City now required someone’s permission? Without hesitation, Joe Di summoned the Heavenly Sable Blade and slashed at the array.
Even if Chi Yao himself had set up this array, Joe Di would not hesitate to tear it apart.