Joe Di understood Serena Yu's thinking; she likely believed his cultivation hadn't reached a level that could threaten her. Even if he wanted to kill her, she felt he couldn't succeed, and she could leave whenever she wished.
However, Joe Di was well aware that if he truly wanted to kill Serena Yu, it wouldn’t matter that she was only at the Dao Shaping Perfection stage now; even if she had reached Dao Nurturing, she wouldn’t be able to escape.
Joe Di pondered in silence. If Serena Yu had mentioned Divine Spirit Grass, he would have left long ago. But Dao Fruit—this was far too precious.
At least up until now, he hadn’t found a single Dao Fruit. Or perhaps the pupil-rule fruit he obtained before was a Dao Fruit, but that fruit had already surpassed the category of Dao Fruits; it should be considered a grade-less Dao Fruit.
Joe Di cultivated the Dao of Laws, so he knew very well that advancing in his alchemy shouldn’t be too difficult. Right now, he was already a peak Dao Shaping Alchemist; once he settled down to study for a while, he would surely step into the ranks of Dao Nurturing Alchemists.
But Dao Nurturing Alchemist and Dao Nurturing Pill Saint were two completely different concepts. No matter how extraordinary his Dao of Laws was, without Dao Fruit, it would be impossible to reach the rank of Dao Nurturing Pill Saint.
Sensing Joe Di's hesitation, Serena Yu spoke again, "I haven't lied to you. Every word I said is true. That place definitely has a Dao Fruit Orchard. As for how I know, I can't tell you."
After a moment’s hesitation, Joe Di nodded. "Alright, I agree to enter the Grand Ruins with you. But I need to find a place to seclude myself for cultivation for a while. If possible, let’s meet three years from now at…"
"Let’s meet at Clearhaven City. There’s a teleportation array there that leads directly to the Grand Ruins." Seeing Joe Di agree, Serena Yu quickly stated the location and took out her communication bead.
"Alright, then three years from now at Clearhaven City." Joe Di responded, swiftly exchanging communication beads with Serena Yu before instantly departing. Lightning, almost as fast as Joe Di, followed him and vanished like a shadow.
"I really don't understand how such a genius cultivator could be just an outer disciple." Serena Yu muttered to herself as she watched Joe Di disappear, then swiftly changed direction and departed as well.
Joe Di did not leave Grandridge. Instead, he found an extremely secluded spot on the mountain, set up a series of formations, and began his closed-door cultivation.
As for Lightning, Joe Di didn't hesitate to toss it into the Ninth World. Lightning was far too conspicuous; aside from its slightly faster speed, its strength was still lacking. If it continued to wander outside, it might get into trouble again.
The first thing Joe Di did during his retreat was to plant the Supreme Dao Vein beneath the World Tree.
As soon as Joe Di implanted the Supreme Dao Vein beneath the World Tree, he sensed an aura of joy from the ancient tree. Joe Di breathed a sigh of relief; he had fulfilled his promise to the World Tree. As for whether the tree could be reborn, that was beyond his ability to intervene further.
Joe Di did not remain in the Ninth World. He planned to refine pills, but the laws of heaven and earth in the Ninth World grew according to his cultivation. Now that his cultivation was at the Dao Nurturing stage, the pills he wanted to refine were not limited to Dao Nurturing Divine Pills. If he wished to refine higher-level pills in the Ninth World, he would first need to advance to a higher-level Pill Deity in a place with more complete laws.
Joe Di was already a peak Dao Shaping Pill Deity, so refining Dao Nurturing Divine Pills took him only half a month. After half a month, not only did he produce Dao Nurturing Divine Pills, but occasionally he could refine pills with a faint Dao pattern. However, no matter how hard Joe Di tried, he could not produce Dao Nurturing Divine Pills with clear Dao patterns. Without Dao patterns, even the best Dao Nurturing Divine Pills were only considered top-grade.
A year later, Joe Di finally managed to refine a Dao Transformation Divine Pill, officially stepping into the ranks of Dao Transformation Pill Deities. Upon reaching this level, he could produce mid-grade Dao Transformation Divine Pills. Yet even after another year of refining and comprehending, he was still only able to make mid-grade pills.
The Divine Spirit Herbs Joe Di obtained from the Origin Dao Sect were nearly depleted, so he stopped refining pills, saving a few herbs for emergencies. He sensed that his pill dao had reached a bottleneck; otherwise, after two years, his skill should have improved, and he would have been able to produce a special-grade divine pill.
Joe Di kept some Divine Spirit Herbs in reserve, just in case he actually obtained a Dao Fruit and needed to break through to Pill Saint. Achieving Pill Saint required more than just a Dao Fruit; auxiliary Divine Spirit Herbs were also necessary. The opportunity to freely gather Divine Spirit Herbs from the Origin Dao Sect's Dao Mountain Range would never come again.
Joe Di calculated the time and found that there was still about a year left until his agreed meeting with Serena Yu. He decided to upgrade his Tiansuo Blade first, then head to Qingli Sacred Dao City to wait for Serena Yu.
If one day he advanced to Dao Transformation Pill Saint, he would never have to worry about cultivation resources again. Besides, he believed Serena Yu hadn't lied to him; her claim about the Dao Fruit Orchard in Grandridge was likely true.
Joe Di had acquired quite a bit of Nirvana Black Geng Stone—enough to make two large doors. Wanting to upgrade his Tiansuo Blade, Joe Di didn't hesitate and threw all the Nirvana Black Geng Stone into the Dao Fire he summoned.
A sizzling sound filled the air, but Joe Di was dumbfounded. His Dao Fire was already a top-tier immortal flame, yet he couldn't even melt the Nirvana Black Geng Stone, nor could he burn off the surface layer of these two stone doors.
This Dao Transformation cultivator seemed to know that anyone able to enter Grandridge was likely someone of significance. He cupped his fists and spoke politely, "Palace Lord Jaden Dai has ordered that all cultivators leaving Grandridge must pass through the side formation gate."
He would have to find materials to upgrade his Dao Fire before he could enhance the Tiansuo Blade.
......
Perhaps Grandridge still held greater treasures, but Joe Di had no intention of lingering. No matter how many treasures there were, upgrading his flame was now his top priority.
The Dao Transformation cultivator wasn't angered. He simply replied, "Naturally, it's Palace Lord Jaden Dai of Daihe Palace. I'm just a disciple following orders. If you don't wish to pass through, I won't force you. All I can do is report to Palace Lord Jaden Dai about any cultivators who refuse the formation."
Joe Di was startled. Jaden Dai of Daihe Palace? How did he manage to find this place? What was going on? It didn't make sense—he'd been in the Dao Domain for years, so why was Jaden Dai seeking him out after his latest entry into Grandridge?
At the thought of Jaden Dai, Joe Di immediately became vigilant. If he refused to pass through the formation gate, it would obviously look suspicious. Or rather, whether he was guilty or not, Jaden Dai would surely investigate his background.
It seemed he had no choice but to walk through the formation gate. Just as Joe Di was about to step in, a chill ran through his heart. That was close—he'd almost fallen into Jaden Dai's trap.
Joe Di paused, confused. He hadn't heard that entering or leaving Grandridge required inspection.
"What's the matter?" Joe Di's expression turned somewhat grim.
This Dao Transformation cultivator seemed to know that anyone able to enter Grandridge was likely someone of significance. He cupped his fists and spoke politely, "Palace Lord Jiang has ordered that all cultivators leaving Grandridge must pass through the side formation gate."
Joe Di frowned. Wasn't this too overbearing? Only talented cultivators could enter Grandridge—who would want to walk through someone else's formation? With a sweep of his divine sense, he could tell the side formation gate was a checking array.
"Which Palace Lord Jiang? Daring to inspect cultivators entering Grandridge—does reason mean nothing here? What if I refuse to go?" Joe Di's tone turned cold.
He believed that any cultivator with some knowledge of formations would recognize this inspection array.
The Dao Transformation cultivator wasn't angered. He simply replied, "Naturally, it's Palace Lord Jiang of Daihe Palace. I'm just a disciple following orders. If you don't wish to pass through, I won't force you. All I can do is report to Palace Lord Jiang about any cultivators who refuse the formation."
Joe Di was startled. Jiang Dai of Daihe Palace? How did he manage to find this place? What was going on? It didn't make sense—he'd been in the Dao Domain for years, so why was Jiang Dai seeking him out after his latest entry into Grandridge?
At the thought of Jiang Dai, Joe Di immediately became vigilant. If he refused to pass through the formation gate, it would obviously look suspicious. Or rather, whether he was guilty or not, Jiang Dai would surely investigate his background.
It seemed he had no choice but to walk through the formation gate. Just as Joe Di was about to step in, a chill ran through his heart. That was close—he'd almost fallen into Jiang Dai's trap.