Outside the Guardian Array of the Taiji Realm, waves of thunderous explosions echoed endlessly, leaving the gathered sect masters of the Starblade Sect and several pillars of the Grand Court of Taiji anxious and uneasy.
The Grand Court of Taiji had not been established for long. Although they had some cultivator armies, sending these forces out against Third Step experts would be little different from sending them to their deaths.
After Joe Di slew four cultivators from the Bay of Legends, the rumbling outside the Guardian Array came to a complete halt.
After more than a dozen breaths passed, Jason Ren suddenly shouted, "Could it be that the Dao Lord has returned, so..."
Except for He Yi, the sect master of the Grand Array Sect, everyone looked at Jason Ren as if he were a fool. Dao Lord Di was indeed formidable, but no matter how powerful Joe Di was, he could not possibly contend with a Third Step expert, nor was he one himself.
Jason Ren was deeply grateful and admiring of Joe Di, but surely he couldn't be so blindly optimistic?
He Yi interjected, "I actually think Deputy Sect Master Ren might be right. The Guardian Array of our Taiji Realm, arranged by the Dao Lord, is incredibly strong. To break through the Guardian Array, one must launch relentless attacks. That's why the enemy kept attacking for centuries without pause. Once the attacks stop, the array automatically repairs itself, and all their previous efforts are wasted..."
As a top-tier Array Master, He Yi vaguely sensed the presence of the Five Direction Banners. Without them, the Taiji Realm would not have lasted until today.
Once the Five Direction Banners were in place and resonating with each other, breaking the Guardian Array of the Taiji Realm would become nearly impossible. The banners could enhance the array's grade and automatically repair it. As innate treasures, their ability to restore the array was extraordinary. That's why even with Third Step experts attacking, if they were only Second Step cultivators, He Yi believed they could never breach the array.
But the Five Direction Banners were far too precious, so he kept quiet about them.
Fang Jianxi was the first to understand, his eyes lighting up with excitement as he looked at He Yi. "Councilor He, do you mean..."
Before Fang Jianxi could finish, He Yi said, "Protector Fang has probably guessed it. What I mean is, the Bay Family would never stop attacking our Guardian Array unless they gave up their chance for revenge against Taiji Realm. Once they stop, our array rapidly repairs itself. With the Bay Family's character, there's no way they'd abandon a century of effort. The only possibility is that someone has blocked their assault on Taiji Realm."
There might be several people capable of stopping the Bay Family's attack on Taiji Realm, but the only one willing to do so is likely Dao Lord Di himself."
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Before anyone else could speak, Joe Di's voice rang out, "You guessed correctly. Those Bay of Legends fools trying to break my Taiji Guardian Array were killed by me. You all have worked hard lately."
Joe Di's words filled everyone with excitement. They had been resigned to death, but with the Dao Lord's return, everything was resolved. As for the consequences of killing the Bay of Legends experts, no one gave it a second thought. They had barely survived—who would worry about consequences now?
Several sect masters quickly bowed in gratitude. Only now did they truly realize how vital a powerful Dao Lord was to a realm. No wonder the Supreme Ease Realm and Prime Essence World had developed so rapidly—no one dared mess with their territory.
Fang Jianxi hurried forward and said, "Greetings, Dao Lord. We haven't really worked hard—just discussed matters every day, but never came up with much. At most, we'd go down with the Bay Family if things got desperate. It's Dao Lord who has had to fight as soon as you returned."
Joe Di immediately asked, "Protector Fang, do you know the location of the Bay of Legends?"
As soon as Joe Di asked, everyone gasped. Clearly, Joe Di had no intention of letting things rest—he was planning to seek revenge against the Bay of Legends.
To kill cultivators from the Bay of Legends and then go seeking revenge in their domain—this was surely the first time anyone had seen such a thing.
Several cultivators wanted to dissuade Joe Di, but the words caught in their throats and they swallowed them down.
If Joe Di hadn't returned, the Taiji Realm would have been refined, and they would all be dead. Now that they've survived, why not let Joe Di seek his revenge? If they lose to the Bay Family, so be it—they'd simply die again.
If the Dao Lord wasn't afraid, what did they have to fear?
Fang Jianxi shook his head. "Other than the Bay Family members, I doubt anyone knows. In fact, even those disciples expelled by the Bay Family have never revealed the location of the Bay of Legends."
Hearing Fang Jianxi's words, Joe Di glanced at everyone's expressions and immediately realized they truly didn't know where the Bay of Legends was located.
Joe Di didn't want to waste time in the Grand Court. He immediately said, "Protector Fang, Protector Ren, and the five councilors—I'll leave the matters of the Grand Court of Taiji to you. I need to go into seclusion for a while."
Joe Di had to enter seclusion. He carried several rings belonging to Bay Family disciples and needed to refine them to see if any held the location of the Bay of Legends. Besides that, he also had a Xuanhuang True Spirit World to refine as soon as possible. If there were still cultivators from the Xuanhuang Realm inside, he would let them live in the Taiji Realm.
No one objected to Joe Di's plan for seclusion. During the attack on the Taiji Realm's Guardian Array, the councilors and Protectors hadn't done much. They were eager for Joe Di to entrust them with responsibilities, so he would know they weren't useless.
......
Nora Xiu opened her eyes and found herself lying on a jade bed. Startled, she leapt up, only to discover in shock that her soul had completely recovered—not only restored, but utterly pure, without a trace of impurity.
How could this be possible?
She had burned her own soul—a truly irreversible act. How could she be restored? She seemed completely unaffected. Had she reincarnated?
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Nora Xiu quickly dismissed the thought. When she saw her clothes had been changed, a chill ran through her body.
Forcing herself to calm down, Nora Xiu looked up and was stunned by the sight before her. Supreme and high-grade Spirit Veins were piled like mountains, and the peak formed by top-grade Spirit Crystals was even larger.
That was nothing—she actually saw a World Tree. Nora Xiu knew what it was; it was a legendary item, so how could it appear before her eyes?
Then she saw Bolt sleeping beneath the World Tree. As Nora Xiu sensed Bolt's aura, her scalp tingled. She was certain this was a colossal divine beast—if it so much as yawned at her, it could annihilate her instantly.
As Nora Xiu swept her gaze toward Bolt, it woke up. Seeing its mistress awake, Bolt hurried over, tail wagging energetically.
Nora Xiu tried to reach for her magic treasures, but found she no longer had a ring on her hand.
Just as she was about to close her eyes in despair, Bolt spoke in a flattering tone, "Mistress, you’re finally awake. Old Master has been coming to see you every moment."
"Mistress? Old Master?" Nora Xiu looked at the divine beast before her in confusion. It spoke, and in such a fawning tone, clearly it wasn’t about to devour her.
Bolt tried even harder to please her. "Old Master took me across heaven and earth, running everywhere, and finally got you a Two-Realm Fruit. Then he used Cosmic Essence to cleanse your marrow. Now that you’ve awakened, Old Master will be so happy."
Feeling it hadn’t explained clearly, Bolt quickly added, "It’s normal if Mistress doesn’t recognize me. Old Master took me in later because I have exceptional talent and he values me highly."
Nora Xiu only felt colder. Could it be that this Old Master had taken a fancy to her, imprisoning her in this True Spirit World for her talent?
No, wait—this didn’t seem to be the True Spirit World.