"Senior Zane Du asked me to deliver a message. He was ambushed by Zefron Ye, and that Zefron Ye is definitely not what he appears to be..." Galen could say no more; his entire being dissolved into nothingness.
In his final moments, what Galen lamented most was his terrible luck. When Senior Zane Du handed him that talisman and sent him to find Joe Di, he had said there was a sixty percent chance Joe Di was outside the Mountainview Forbidden Zone. As long as Galen could find Joe Di and deliver the message, Joe Di would surely save him.
Unfortunately, sixty percent was no guarantee that Joe Di was outside the Mountainview Forbidden Zone. Galen never found Joe Di, and could only perish.
Voidbreaker watched helplessly as Galen faded into nothingness. Whether Galen was telling the truth or not, he was powerless to help. He was also waiting for Joe Di here, but who knew where Joe Di was now?
"Fellow Daoist, are you lost?" Joe Di was still tearing through the void realm when a sudden voice rang out. Joe Di's divine sense also swept over the source of the voice.
The newcomer had fair skin and a tall figure, speaking in a slow and measured manner, appearing extremely calm and detached.
What surprised Joe Di most was this person's cultivation—he was definitely in the Third Step. And Joe Di suspected this Third Step wasn't any weaker than Zefron Ye's. Aside from Cassie Cao and Zefron Ye, this was the strongest person Joe Di had ever met.
Joe Di clasped his fists politely and said, "Greetings, fellow Daoist. I am indeed lost in the void. By any chance, do you know the Void Compass or the coordinates for this cosmic void?"
The fair-skinned cultivator stepped closer to Joe Di, clasped his fists warmly, and said, "I do know some of the nearby Void Compass points. However, even if I give them to you, I'm afraid you still won't be able to leave this space. I've wandered here for hundreds of thousands of years, and only barely figured out a few void positions..."
A powerful sense of threat surged in, making Joe Di's back tingle with unease. Instinctively, he wanted to step back, but he quickly suppressed the urge and slowly let out a breath. "So that's how it is. Fellow Daoist, would you be willing to sell me a Direction Sphere so I can take a look? If that's not possible, I may have to trouble you for guidance again."
At this moment, the cultivation of the pale-skinned cultivator felt far more intense than Zefron Ye's. Joe Di was certain this man's cultivation surpassed Zefron Ye's as well.
Zefron Ye had only just stepped into the Third Step. Based on Joe Di's understanding, Zefron Ye should be at the early stage of the Realm Creation level. But this man was even higher—either at Boundary Fusion Realm or Creation Realm. Both Cassie Cao and Zane Du had told him that breaking into the Creation Realm in the Five Elements Universe was nearly impossible.
That meant this man should be at the Boundary Fusion Realm.
To encounter someone at the Boundary Fusion Realm in this cosmic void was astonishing. If Joe Di hadn't truly grasped his own Dao, he wouldn't have the composure to ask for directions—he'd be fleeing as far as he could.
The pale-skinned man seemed to sense Joe Di's vigilance and smiled even more warmly. "In fact, we are the same. I once wandered in here over a matter of pride. All these years, I've cultivated while searching for a way out. Despite all I've learned, I still can't find a path to leave this universe."
He didn't mention the Direction Sphere again, and Joe Di didn't press further. Though the man remained polite and courteous, Joe Di couldn't shake a sense of discomfort.
It wasn't Joe Di's first time facing someone stronger than himself—whether Cassie Cao or Zane Du, he'd never felt this uneasy.
Just as Joe Di was about to take his leave, the pale-skinned man spoke up, "My name is Jade Vaughn. I wonder if you've ever heard of me?"
As Jade Vaughn finished speaking, he kept a close eye on Joe Di's expression, watching for any reaction.
Jade Vaughn? Joe Di truly hadn't heard of him. He shook his head and smiled, "I've only been cultivating for a short time, so there are many famous seniors I've never heard of."
Joe Di's expression made Jade Vaughn certain that Joe Di really hadn't heard of him. Jade Vaughn gave a self-deprecating smile, "May I ask how I should address you, fellow Daoist?"
"My name is Joe Di. Since you, Jade Vaughn, haven't figured out the situation here either, I'll take my leave for now." Joe Di didn't want to stay with Jade Vaughn; he always felt this guy was rather sinister.
Back when Elijah Wells escaped to the Mountainview Forbidden Zone, he seemed sinister too. But Elijah's kind of sinister was a whole different concept. One was simply meticulous, cautious, never offending anyone, always putting his own interests first. The other was like a venomous snake—sometimes appearing friendly, but once he struck, there would be no mercy.
Jade Vaughn shook his head and took out a crystal sphere, handing it to Joe Di. "Joe, if you keep searching like this, you might spend a million years and still not find a way out. This universe cannot be torn open unless your cultivation reaches the cosmic extreme. Take this Direction Sphere and have a look—it's the result of my many years of exploration. I've marked a few places on it; maybe they'll be useful to you."
Joe Di thought Jade Vaughn didn't want to give him the Direction Sphere, but unexpectedly, when he was about to leave, Jade Vaughn handed it to him.
If it were an ordinary place, Joe Di wouldn't have wanted this Direction Sphere. But in this situation, it was hard to refuse the gesture. Spending tens of thousands of years figuring out how to leave this universe was not an option.
As Joe Di examined the Direction Sphere with his divine sense, he kept his guard up against Jade Vaughn. Soon, he was drawn in by the sphere's contents—several locations were marked, including two Void Vortexes. These Void Vortexes resembled the ones he had entered in the Shaman Realm before.
Besides those two Void Vortexes, there was also a Void Sea. The Void Sea immediately reminded Joe Di of the Primordial Zither he carried, which once belonged to Quinn Fang from Xianhai. Joe Di didn't know if Quinn Fang was alive or dead, and as for the Primordial Zither being with Xing Xi, it was probably a doomed fate.
After looking over the Direction Sphere, Joe Di handed it back to Jade Vaughn. "Thank you, Jade. Did you ever check out those two Void Vortexes?"
What puzzled Joe Di was that, despite Jade Vaughn being so dangerous, he hadn't tried to ambush him.
Or rather, given their cultivation levels, Jade Vaughn could easily overpower him without an ambush. Why hadn't Jade Vaughn made a move? Was his intuition wrong?
Jade Vaughn didn't take the Direction Sphere back, and gave a wry smile. "Just keep the Direction Sphere, Joe. I've checked out those Void Vortexes, but even with my strength, they seemed far too dangerous. As for that Void Sea, I haven't tried crossing it yet, but I have a feeling there might be hope there."
"Thank you." Joe Di put away the Direction Sphere and asked, "I only ended up here by accidentally entering a Void Vortex. How did you arrive here, Jade?"
Since Jade Vaughn hadn't made a move and even gave him a Direction Sphere, Joe Di decided not to act alone. Two people searching for a way out were better than one.
A trace of sadness flashed in Jade Vaughn's eyes as he sighed, "Years ago, a very famous cultivator invited everyone to a banquet, and I went too. But once there, a man named Zefron Ye was so hot-tempered that, to show his strength, he wouldn't let me near the table and forced me away. I felt humiliated, and left in a foul mood. In my carelessness, I entered a Void Vortex and ended up in this universe."
Joe Di looked at Jade Vaughn in surprise. His story was hard to believe, but Joe Di could sense from his tone and Dao resonance that it was true—someone really had driven him away, refusing to let him sit. Was there truly such a person?