Joe Di checked his belongings and said, "I'll give you a Dan Seal for alchemy. With this Dan Seal, you can rely on any external laws, and your pill condensation will hardly ever fail. Moreover, after the pills are formed, the pill patterns will be at least three stripes or higher."
Sawyer Walker chuckled, "Joe, although I'm honest and sincere, you can't just take advantage of me like this. You want to trade a Dan Seal for my Earthshade Illusion? Doesn't your conscience feel uneasy?"
Joe Di sneered inwardly. This guy actually had the nerve to mention conscience. If the Earthshade Illusion weren't so tempting, he wouldn't even bother with him.
"Sawyer, let me first talk about this Earthshade Illusion. For those who need it, it's indeed a good thing. But for those who don't, while it's not completely worthless, it's just so-so. You know better than anyone how useful the Earthshade Illusion is to you. It's merely a dispensable divine art; it can't improve your cultivation nor your strength. The only thing it gives you is wasted time spent deducing it. For someone like you, I don't need to remind you how precious time is..."
At this point, Joe Di deliberately paused, then pointed to the distant Chaotic Continent. "But that place can greatly enhance your power, maybe even let you step into the Third Step. Once you reach the Third Step, I don't know what your strength will be, but I bet you won't care about transforming all things anymore."
Now let me talk about my Dan Seal. As I told you, it's a Dao Law Dan Seal, refined using any cosmic rules. Have you ever seen a Dan Seal with an almost 100% success rate and pills that always have at least three stripes? That's exactly what mine is. Its value is self-evident. In other words, your illusion technique isn't unique in the universe—since there's Earthshade, there must be Heavenfiend. But my Dan Seal is one of a kind; you won't find a second copy anywhere.
I'm offering you such a precious Dan Seal in exchange for a divine art that's not very meaningful to you and isn't unique, and I'm even promising to take you into this continent. Yet you accuse me of taking advantage of you. Sigh, I guess it's true that one shouldn't be too honest. My only flaw is that I'm too straightforward. I could easily claim I don't care about the Earthshade Illusion, but because I'm so genuine, I have to admit I'm really fond of it."
Sawyer Walker stared wide-eyed at Joe Di, and only after Joe finished did he let out a long sigh. "Joe, you really know how to talk. I... I am left speechless..."
Although Sawyer Walker knew Joe Di was spouting nonsense, he didn't find Joe's words particularly harsh. If he did step into the Creation Realm, how many rivals would remain in the world? With no opponents, what's the point of transforming all things? Even if he had rivals, wouldn't they see through the illusions created by the Earthshade Illusion?
Joe Di took out a jade slip and said, "It's because I'm sincere that you feel this way. We really don't have much time—every moment that passes, the chaotic aura of this continent grows weaker. Let's make the trade. You should hurry and master the foremost alchemy technique in the universe."
After speaking, Joe Di handed the jade slip forward, determined to exchange for Sawyer Walker's Earthshade Illusion. If Sawyer Walker refused, he'd offer a drop of Cosmic Essence; if that still wasn't enough, he'd even add a branch of the World Tree.
Such a treasure in Sawyer Walker's hands was like a turtle eating barley—completely wasted. Only in his own hands could its brilliance and potential be truly realized.
Sawyer Walker hesitated for a few moments, then sighed and handed the ancient, weathered shell to Joe Di. "It's a shame you don't participate in the Cosmic Dao Debate; you're truly wasted here."
Joe Di snatched the shell and stuffed the jade slip into Sawyer Walker's hand, a surge of joy bursting in his heart. Finally, he had obtained it.
Sensing Joe Di's eagerness, Sawyer Walker glanced at him with a look of worldly innocence. "You're really a wheeler-dealer. Since I've given my word, I, Sawyer, would never go back on it."
"I'm going to study the Earthshade Illusion. You wait here." Joe Di couldn't be bothered with Sawyer Walker, grabbing the shell and immediately retreating to the side.
Sawyer Walker, of course, ignored Joe Di. His spiritual sense fell upon the jade slip containing the Dan Seal. With just a glance, he was overwhelmed with excitement, his eyes shining. This was undoubtedly the most advanced alchemy law he had ever seen. This method of pill refinement was simply...
Sawyer Walker couldn't find the words to describe this alchemy law. If he'd known Joe Di was trading such a Dan Seal, he wouldn't have wasted so much time talking. To Sawyer, the Dan Seal in his hand had already transcended the category of mere alchemy. Just like Joe Di, Sawyer felt this Dan Seal would revolutionize his Dao.
Joe Di went off to study the Earthshade Illusion, while Sawyer Walker couldn't wait to delve into the Dan Seal law in his hands.
......
How precious was the Earthshade Illusion to someone like Joe Di? As soon as his spiritual sense touched the first character on the shell and felt the initial law within, his entire mind became immersed.
At that moment, Joe Di completely forgot time was passing, even forgetting he was still in the outer void of the Chaotic Continent. Endless Dao Rhythms continually manifested around him, condensing into a myriad of laws.
For other cultivators, it might take a long time to comprehend this. But for Joe Di, it fit perfectly with his Dao.
The Earthshade Illusion was a divine art that fused the laws of all things to condense rules.
This was exactly how Joe Di's cosmic world had come to be. Every law within it was condensed by himself, every rule constructed from his own laws. Using his rule-based Dao to deduce the Earthshade Illusion was as natural as breathing.
Moreover, the concept of transformation within the Earthshade Illusion gave Joe Di even greater insight, deepening his understanding of rules.
Previously, when condensing rules to build his cosmic world and attain the Third Step, he would create whatever rule was lacking. If he couldn't create it, he'd keep deducing the surrounding cosmic rules, accumulating over time. He'd never considered that sometimes, two different rules could actually be compatible. This discovery was truly remarkable for Joe Di.
Perhaps this compatibility was fundamentally different, and it might affect how Joe Di constructed his world. But it didn't stop him from gaining a deeper understanding of divine arts. He could use water-based rules to unleash fire-based arts, or space-based rules to perform time-based techniques.
It sounds simple, but in actual combat, this ultimate simplicity of transformation could boost the power of divine arts far beyond mere addition.
Sometimes, once the principle is explained clearly, it's easy to grasp—just like the three primary colors of light: red, green, and blue. These three can combine to create endless, even any, color.
The rule transformation of Earthshade follows the same logic. Joe Di suspected that once he fully comprehended the Earthshade Illusion, his understanding of rule fusion alone would allow him to master the Heavenfiend Illusion, and then even surpass it, achieving transformation at will.
Sometimes, the Dao is just that simple. It's like the infinite colors—can you extract the three primaries from them?
A day, a month, a year...
Sawyer was busy studying Joe Di's Dan Seal law and had no time to remind Joe that time was passing. The two of them, outside the Chaotic Continent, were lost in their own favorite divine arts, completely unconcerned with how long time had flown by.
When Joe Di finally transformed into Sawyer Walker's likeness, he knew he had mastered the Earthshade Illusion. As for deducing the Heavenfiend Illusion in the future, or even surpassing it, that would require more time and opportunity.