Taiyi Dao Fruit

Jiang Li's visage was as solemn and indifferent as that of a deity, towering above as he gazed down at the insignificant Primordial Spirit below, "You are merely a chess piece, a piece used to test Heaven and me. Your master, wary of Heaven resonating with me again and needing time to assimilate his gains, sent you to probe. He wants to know the limits of Heaven's embodied intervention."

Is it that so long as the Power of Yellow Heaven exists it will descend to intervene, or is it that only in the face of Gongsun Qi will Heaven exert itself?

That was Gongsun Qi's true objective.

As for killing Jiang Li?

Success would certainly be welcome, but failure was not to be lamented.

Yun Jiuye was nothing more than a pawn used to test Jiang Li, because he himself was a Direct Disciple of Gongsun Qi, better suited to bear the remotely transmitted power.

Now, Gongsun Qi's goal had been achieved. He had probed out those limits and the chess piece that had served its purpose was no longer important. If it could be preserved, then preserve it; if not, then discard it.

Even if that chess piece was his Direct Disciple.

Compared to the earlier finger strike, these two sentences were utterly non-lethal, but when the voice, aided by True Qi, caught up with Yun Jiuye's Primordial Spirit, it caused his spirit to distort and ripple as if it was about to shatter.

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

The violent fluctuations of the Divine Sense in the Primordial Spirit conveyed Yun Jiuye's disbelief with crystal clarity.

However, the prolonged inaction of the Five Generals was continuously corroborating the veracity of the words.

Gongsun Qi was currently not in a position to show himself, while the Earth Uncle of the Yin Law Department was to block Tianxuan, and to avoid complications, it would be best not to open the gateway to the Underworld. As for the Taiping Sect, the two disciples of the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer had now gone to Liangzhou Province, and the Sacrificial Wine Master himself was naturally focused on the situation there.

And Juzi of the Mo Sect should also be concerned with Liangzhou, if not already on his way.

Zhang Zhixuan and the experts of the Taiping Sect couldn't leave their posts.

Thus, Yun Jiuye had lost his support.

Before him lay a dead end!

But he could only move forward.

"I don't believe it!"

The luminescence of his Primordial Spirit was like flames burning fiercely, with Yun Jiuye sparing no expense to ignite his spirit, he dashed through the sky in desperate flight.

But what awaited him was not an open gateway, but an endlessly long distance that seemed without end.

Unconsciously, divinations scattered all around, forming into a massive Qimen Formation, no matter how Yun Jiuye attempted to flee, he couldn't escape from this swath of space.

"I don't believe it!"

His Mental State was on the verge of collapse in the face of reality. The crushing defeat earlier had not shattered his heart and spirit, but now, his hopeless path reduced Yun Jiuye to face the greatest despair of his life. From being a chess piece to a discarded one, this eldest disciple of the Dinghu Sect had plummeted to the nadir of his life, never to rise again.

That Tao Primordial Spirit eventually burnt out in the sky, the spark of obsession echoing disbelief and the ultimate despair.

Yun Jiuye, was no more!

"Whether you believe it or not, what does it have to do with me? I simply wished to witness your despair," said Jiang Li, a hint of a smile sketched across his detached face.

There was nothing quite as delightful as the death of an enemy, nothing more fitting to exact revenge than crushing the heart.

An enemy's despair was the most pleasant nourishment for oneself.

How delightful.

The fall of Yun Jiuye meant Jiang Li had one less foe. He burnt out into the despairing sparks while others became corpses, plummeting from the sky.

And in the distance, the Big Snake Illusion enveloped by the Fire Dragon faced its impending doom.

"Only you are left."

Jiang Li turned his gaze to the maimed Heavenly Dragon, "Just you now."

Those who had besieged Jiang Li fell one by one; now the only one remaining was Guangli Bodhisattva, while Jiang Li stood tall in the sky, a colossal figure like an impassable celestial ridge.

Guangli Bodhisattva's heart sank slowly.

······

"The general situation is set."

Inside Yuxu Temple, in front of Yuqing Hall, three Daoists focused their Power, peering through the storm at the battle approaching its conclusion.

"The Dao Fruit of Qingyuan Miao Dao True Monarch is, after all..." Guangming Daoist couldn't help but express regret, "To be honest, I feel a bit remorseful. I should have advised my brother Guang Cheng to reconsider."

Had they known how powerful it was, they should have let their disciples from the temple try to resonate with the Dao Fruit; maybe one of them could have succeeded.

In that case, they might have allowed him to try overcoming the calamity.

"Holding on for so many years without results has been pointless; better to exchange for a stronger ally," said another Daoist shaking his head. He harbored no regrets toward Qingyuan Miao Dao True Monarch Dao Fruit, only a sense of loss for the shattered bodies falling from the sky, and sighed, "We've lost another Daoist brother."

With Jiang Biehe's death, of this generation's Twelve Golden Immortals only six remained.

"To perish at the hands of Fellow Daoist Jiang can be considered fortunate, sparing us the need to act," Shen Hou likewise gazed into the distance, speaking somberly.

"Though that might be true..." the Daoist trailed off, shaking his head with a sigh.

The three of them were present not only to oversee the Array and protect Yuxu Temple but also to guard against Jiang Biehe barging into Yuqing Hall to seize the Dao Artifact.

They had thought if Jiang Biehe attempted to storm the hall, they'd capture him, thus avoiding any breach of their codes and keeping him out of murky waters. Unexpectedly, Jiang Biehe had headed straight there and even revealed the Buddhist Dao Fruit.

Had he been captured by his own sect, there might have been room to negotiate, such as stripping him of his Power and imprisoning him for eternity, earning a sliver of a chance at life. But Jiang Biehe engaged Jiang Li, and death was just that—death. And for that, Yuxu Temple would not only avoid blaming but would actually thank Jiang Li.

The Daoist pondered, and with a quiet sigh, concluded, "Let it be, let it be so. Now that the general situation is set, let us go and join forces to resolve Guangli Bodhisattva and retrieve... Jiang Biehe's Dao Fruit."