The old man pointed to the end of the crossroads. "Go this way, and after the time it takes to burn an incense stick, you'll reach the wormhole. Each district takes turns guarding the wormhole for a month..."
The old man paused here, glanced at Joe Di and Zane Wu, and said, "It seems you two are clever, not joining any faction. But even so, it won't make much difference. Within four months, you must go to the wormhole at least once, and at least three times a year."
Joe Di swept his divine sense along the end of the crossroads. As soon as his sense passed over the vast marketplace, it was blocked by a powerful isolation array. Joe Di was certain that even with rule flags, he wouldn't be able to break through this formation.
Retracting his divine sense, Joe Di asked again, "May I ask, must we join a faction?"
The old man shook his head. "Not necessarily. You can choose to live in any of the four districts. Whichever district you pick, you'll be considered one of its people. When the time comes, the district's team leader will arrange for you to go to the wormhole. At that point, refusal is not allowed—if you refuse, there's only one end: death. Of course, if you're new and don't know much about the wormhole, you can go to some shops and buy information. There's nothing you can't buy, only things you haven't thought of."
"Is this the Dao Domain?" Joe Di quickened his speech as he saw someone approaching.
"Of course it's the Dao Domain, but..." The old man saw someone approaching as well, so he didn't continue. He cupped his fists to Joe Di. "Thank you for the immortal crystals. Farewell. If you have to settle down, I suggest living in the East District..."
Leaving those words behind, the old man hurriedly turned and left.
"Let's go. We should find a place to settle first." Joe Di didn't try to stop the old man. He already understood the basics; for more details, he could buy a few jade slips with introductions later.
"To the East District?" Zane Wu looked at Joe Di.
Joe Di smiled slightly. "I plan to live right here. See that big lake at the northernmost edge? No one lives by the lakeshore—I think it's perfect for cultivation. If you're willing, you can stay with me. If not..."
Before Joe Di could finish, Zane Wu immediately said, "I'm willing."
Since entering with Joe Di, Zane Wu had found his words and actions clear and decisive, always with a strong sense of purpose, yet never reckless.
Seeing Joe Di and Zane Wu heading toward the northernmost lake, a man who had planned to stop Joe Di hesitated, then muttered in disbelief, "Is he really planning to live by Lake Defiance?"
"Why is no one living here?" Zane Wu sensed something was off as soon as he reached the lakeshore.
The spiritual energy here seemed even denser than elsewhere. Not only that, the environment was far superior. Normally, a place like this would be highly sought after, so the fact that no one lived here was clearly strange.
Joe Di also found it odd. Cultivators seek places with abundant spiritual energy and a quiet environment for training. In this entire marketplace, nowhere seemed better suited for living than here.
Joe Di swept his divine sense across the whole lake and its surroundings, but found nothing unusual—everything appeared perfectly normal.
"Let's settle in first." With that, Joe Di directly summoned a Sanctuary Relic.
There were too many people around, all using their divine senses to observe him and Zane Wu. Using the Eye of the Way right now wasn't appropriate. Once he set up a protective formation here, he definitely planned to use the Eye of the Way to investigate why no one had chosen to live here so far.
Seeing Joe Di summon his Sanctuary Relic, Zane Wu also summoned a treasure and said, "I'll set up a Guardian Array."
Joe Di had intended to set up the Guardian Array himself—his skill in Arraycraft had long surpassed the Supreme Immortal Ward. But since Zane Wu wanted to do it, he didn't insist. While sketching Law Array Banners, he said, "Alright, you handle the Guardian Array."
Zane Wu's array skills were impressive; he could even set up an eighth-grade immortal array.
Joe Di didn't alter Zane Wu's immortal array. Instead, he used his divine sense to outline a backup Law Defensive Array around the perimeter—a formation surpassing even the Ninth-Rank Guardian Array, just in case.
Additionally, the Sanctuary Relic's Guardian Array also surpassed the Supreme Immortal Ward.
As soon as the arrays were set up, a middle-aged man arrived at Joe Di's Sanctuary Relic.
Seeing Joe Di and Zane Wu, the middle-aged man smiled warmly and cupped his fists. "I'm Shane Rivers, team leader of the North District. Welcome to our district, and congratulations on ascending to the Dao Domain."
"So it's Captain Shane. Please, come inside and have a seat." Joe Di said politely. He didn't know how long he'd be staying here, so it was best not to make things awkward with the North District's team leader.
Shane Rivers looked honest and simple, but Joe Di was certain he wasn't truly so. Not only did the man carry a faint murderous aura—one that required slaying countless beings to develop—but simply becoming the North District's team leader was no easy feat.
Shane Rivers smiled and said, "No need to be so formal, Daoist friend. I just have a few words and then I'll be on my way."
Seeing that Shane Rivers had no intention of making friends, Joe Di didn't bother with small talk. "Captain Shane, please instruct us."
Shane Rivers nodded. "Not instructions, but as residents of the North District, you are required to guard the wormhole three times a year..."
'How long is each guard duty?' Joe Di hadn't been to the wormhole before, but he assumed it must be dangerous.
Shane Rivers explained, "It's best to join a faction. Our North District has three months of duty each year. Including you two, we have 3,120 people. Each time, a third of us go, so it's about ten days per shift. Of course, you can do all three shifts in one month if you prefer."
But that's not fixed. If there's a large worm tide, everyone in the North District has to go, regardless of whether you've already completed a month.
'What if we don't join a faction?' Zane Wu asked.
Shane Rivers still smiled as he replied, "That's fine too. Just give me your identity jade slip, and I'll arrange your wormhole duty. As long as you guard for a month each year, it's enough."
Joe Di believed the old man earlier was at least right about one thing: newcomers who join factions are cannon fodder unless they have something valuable. Even without joining, they're still cannon fodder. As newcomers, they have no say here. Since they're cannon fodder anyway, there's no need to join a faction.
Joe Di took out his identity jade slip and handed it to Shane Rivers. "I don't plan to join any faction for now. Here's my identity token. Please arrange our duties."
Seeing Joe Di hand over his identity jade slip, Zane Wu immediately did the same.
Shane Rivers wasn't surprised. These two clearly knew nothing, which was why they didn't join a faction. If they knew more, they wouldn't have chosen to live by Lake Defiance. After recording their identity jade slips and leaving a message, he handed them back. "When it's your turn to guard the wormhole, your identity token will notify you..."
After a pause, Shane Rivers continued, "If it's not necessary, you shouldn't live by Lake Defiance. It's not suitable for residence. Although our North District is the weakest of the four, there are plenty of places to live."
'May I ask, Captain Shane, why is it unsuitable to live by Lake Defiance?' Joe Di asked quickly.