Boom! A violent explosion sent the waters of Xianhai surging into a massive mushroom-shaped plume. Everyone, including Joe Di, fixed their gaze on the epicenter of the blast.
At that moment, a ripple-shaped array gate suddenly appeared at the center. Dao patterns flowed around the gate, clearly marking it as a high-grade void array gate.
Immediately, Joe Di's divine sense swept over and detected that Winston Xian had implanted an array disk. Joe Di had seen such top-tier array disks before. Without Winston Xian's array disk, anyone could enter the secret realm. But with it in place, only cultivators who possessed the Xian Family jade token could enter.
Joe Di didn't mind. The Xian Family had discovered this place, invited everyone to help break the natural restriction, and then implanted an array disk. Everything was done openly, and the price the Xian Family asked for was within reason. It wasn't excessive.
To Joe Di, the only thing the Xian Family had done wrong was daring to plant a divine sense mark on him. If they left him alone, he wouldn't bother with them, especially for Barnett Xian's sake. But if the Xian Family thought they could control him, they shouldn't blame him for striking back hard.
After the array gate opened, no one entered immediately. Winston Xian clasped his fists and announced loudly, "Fellow Daoists, this naturally concealed restriction array has been broken by our combined efforts. Now, all cultivators may enter with their jade tokens."
Many cultivators who had been talking with Joe Di quickly rushed over.
"Let's go too," Joe Di said to Qu Fang. He noticed that Cynthia Xing had already gone in. But he was certain Cynthia wouldn't go far—she was waiting for him.
If Cynthia Xing wasn't after the Extreme Glaze Silver, she likely would have already made a move against him.
"Big Brother, that woman went in. Should I run away now?" Qu Fang asked, feeling the urge to flee as soon as he saw Cynthia Xing enter.
Joe Di patted Quinn Fang. "Listen to me, you can't leave right now. I'm certain that if you leave this reef island, Cynthia Xing will burst out from inside and block your way immediately."
Quinn Fang let out a sigh. "Big brother, I'll listen to you."
"Daoist Joe, the Grand Elder said he was suddenly excited to hear you are a top-tier Saint Artificer, and his mood got the better of him, making him a bit abrupt in his words and actions. If he offended you, please forgive him." Joe Di was surprised to hear this as he and Quinn Fang reached the array gate entrance, but Winston Xian took the initiative to cup his fists to Joe Di, speaking in a very polite tone.
Joe Di was taken aback, but quickly understood.
It seemed Barnett Xian had already guessed that he was not afraid of the Xian Family, and this apology was likely for the mark they placed on him.
The Xian Family, with their strength, were not overly arrogant in their conduct. Joe Di had never intended to make enemies with them. Since Barnett Xian had taken the initiative to apologize, he wouldn't pursue the matter further. Joe Di simply nodded without speaking, then took Quinn Fang and crushed the jade talisman, stepping into the rippling array gate.
Winston Xian watched Joe Di's figure disappear, frowning slightly. Both the Grand Elder and the Supreme Elder had told him Joe Di was not someone to provoke and had asked him to deliver their apology, but he couldn't see what exactly made Joe Di so formidable.
Still, he dared not disobey the elders' words.
……
As soon as Joe Di and Quinn Fang entered the array gate, waves of coldness assaulted them, mixed with a faint scent of seawater. Clearly, after entering the array gate, they were still within Xianhai and hadn't been teleported elsewhere.
"I thought you weren't coming in." Just as Joe Di and Quinn Fang steadied themselves, a cold voice echoed in their ears.
Joe Di's divine sense swept out, discovering that the surrounding space was already locked down by a top-tier killing array. Sensing the strength of this array, Joe Di was secretly shocked.
If before he hadn't taken Cynthia Xing's cultivation seriously, this killing array made him even more wary of her.
He wasn't afraid of the killing array itself, but in such a short time, Cynthia Xing had set up a level-six killing array here. Even if he tried, he could only set up such an array in this time frame. It seemed Cynthia Xing's skills in array formation weren't inferior to his, and might even surpass him slightly.
Where did this woman come from? Not only is she a Hunyuan Pill Saint, but also a top-tier array master.
Joe Di was wary of this woman mainly because he feared she might escape and cause trouble for him in the future. As for now, he truly didn't see Cynthia Xing as a threat. Instead of breaking the array, he simply set up a series of law array flags and said, "Is this your place? Are we not allowed in?"
Cynthia Xing didn't move at all; twelve lotus blades suddenly appeared, swirling around her.
The twelve lotus blades radiated endless killing intent and Dao resonance, as if they could tear the entire void apart in the next instant. Joe Di mused to himself—he hadn't misjudged; this woman was definitely the most formidable Hunyuan cultivator he'd ever encountered.
No, even among the Dao Integration cultivators he'd met, none were as powerful as this woman. Even Barnett Xian from earlier might not be able to handle her.
Cynthia Xing didn't attack immediately. Instead, she kept expanding her domain and coordinated it with her killing array to lock down the surrounding space. As the twelve lotus blades spun, her voice softened. "I'm very curious. You're only at the Hunyuan Realm, yet you have such confidence? For a mere ant at the Hunyuan stage to also be a Saint Artificer is truly impressive. I really want to know what secrets you possess."
Cynthia Xing was truly surprised. Ever since Joe Di had gifted her a half-supreme flying artifact, she was determined to discover the source of his abilities.
She knew better than anyone: without a creation treasure, without sensing creation Dao resonance, and without cultivating creation techniques, becoming a Saint Artificer at the Hunyuan Realm was unimaginably difficult for any cultivator.
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Joe Di immediately drew out the Tiansuo Blade and slashed down. "Enough with the nonsense. Why are you so chatty?"
The domain space Cynthia Xing had locked down suddenly shattered inch by inch, and her expression changed drastically. Although Joe Di's cultivation was somewhat stronger than hers, in her eyes, he was still an ant—one she could crush at any moment.
But with Joe Di's slash, her domain shattered inch by inch. Not only that, her level-six killing array didn't activate immediately, as if it was blocked by another array.
Even Dao Integration cultivators were ants in her eyes, yet this Hunyuan cultivator gave her a sense of imminent death.
At this moment, Cynthia Xing no longer dared to underestimate Joe Di. The twelve lotus blades transformed into twelve lotus flowers of killing intent, blasting toward the blade light of the Tiansuo Blade.
Boom! Crack...
The killing intent formed by Cynthia Xing's twelve lotus flowers shattered piece by piece, releasing a torrent of broken Dao resonance.
A violent backlash swept over, and Cynthia Xing's face changed dramatically. Her twelve lotus flowers of killing intent hadn't even unleashed their true killing domain before being torn apart by Joe Di's seemingly ordinary slash. This was impossible—yet it happened.
Not only that, she felt the rules of her lotus killing intent divine art shatter. For someone to break her divine art's rules—this wasn't something ordinary cultivators could do. Yet Joe Di's casual slash had torn them apart, leaving her unable to follow up. This was her killing array, after all.
Joe Di's cultivation wasn't just a little stronger than hers—it was far superior. Since starting her path, she'd met two young cultivators she feared, and Joe Di was now the third. Equally young, equally terrifying.
Cynthia Xing was shaken, and so was Joe Di. His slash hadn't completely torn apart Cynthia Xing's divine art rules. Not intending to let her escape, Joe Di, seeing his strike fall short, launched a punch without hesitation.