Taiyi Dao Fruit

Jiang Li and Luo Yi were both taken away.

One spoke obscenities, bringing disgrace to the sect, and was sentenced to face the wall in Si Fan Valley for two months.

The other had understandable reasons, but acted too extremely, was penalized to be confined and reflect for ten days, with this punishment delayed due to the need for Luo Yi's cooperation in the investigation.

"A bloody storm has been averted," Elder Yun watched as the two were led away, a satisfied expression on his face, "To stop this bloodshed, my role was significantly crucial."

Had it not been for his warning to Jiang, that young man might have been forced to leave, and under the clash between the two sides, who knows how many would have perished. Elder Yun felt that the primary credit for this should belong to him.

"I didn't see any merit from you, just your sleaziness," Elder Wan rolled his eyes.

To come up with such a vicious trick indicated how poor the old man's morals were. Considering his action of stuffing interior techniques into the Daoist Law Pavilion, Elder Wan had good reason to suspect that this was a heretic or spy staggered within the Dinghu Sect.

Speaking of bringing disgrace to the sect, Jiang Li scarcely matched this chess companion.

However, in terms of merit, Elder Yun did have some.

Had he not stopped Elder Wan, allowing the duel between the two to intensify, perhaps Feng Ziyang wouldn't have been drawn to intervene, and the conflict might not have ended so easily.

"What do you think is going through the minds of those in the Inner Sect?" wondered Elder Wan, trying to get a plausible answer from his cunning and shrewd old friend.

"What else could they be thinking? They definitely want Jiang Li and the Jiang family to form a deep-seated blood feud while making him experience hardships and realize that only by relying on the sect can he survive," Elder Yun said with a sneer, "I guess this is another of Elder Tianji's ideas; his thoughts are always sinister and extreme, never creating a straightforward plan."

"The Sect Leader isn't present, and each of the six elders has their own ideas. Although they all mean well for the sect, what that entails exactly depends on their individual views. Currently, some probably want to discipline Jiang Li, while others may prefer to let nature take its course."

This time, for instance, Luo Yi wanted to leverage the sect's rules to force Jiang Li out, while top management there harbored ideas of taking advantage of the situation, thus allowing Luo Yi to act.

And Jiang Zhuyun might have guessed this intention, but they proceeded anyway, showing that Jiang Li indeed had them cornered, willing to take risks regardless.

"Hopefully, the Sect Leader returns from Divine Capital soon," Elder Wan remarked sentimentally upon hearing this.

"That's unlikely, the Emperor ascended the throne sixty years ago and has aged quite a bit, and I heard he indeed suffered from Heaven's Punishment. The Sect Leader assisting the Emperor to extend his life isn't going to be simple," Elder Yun shook his head, "Advancing in Emperor Dao Fruit is easy, and the power is formidable, but his destined lifespan is fixed, and the Emperor might not have long before he departs this world. Perhaps the Sect Leader will only return after the Emperor has passed."

"Speak cautiously," Elder Wan whispered low.

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Sword Light traversed the sky, and shortly, two figures appeared on the island nearest to Qiao Mountain Island.

The place had no vegetation and was rather desolate, yet it did not feel gloomy. Instead, there was a subtle, imposing aura.

As Jiang Li stepped onto this land, an invisible, ocean-like heaviness surged. His True Qi became as still as dead water, creating not even the slightest ripple. Here, he was completely unable to use his True Qi, and most of his abilities were restricted.

"Is this the Divine Domain? Are there Earth Deities here?" Jiang Li murmured.

Among the Divine Fruits, the Earth God Dao Fruit could demarcate a territory into a domain, creating a small Divine Domain of its own. In the Divine Domain, external forces were restricted, while one's inherent power was significantly amplified.

Generally, within the Divine Domain, equals could seldom contend.

However, this ability had substantial limitations; once a region was established as a domain, it was basically bound to the land, making it extremely difficult to sever ties. Many holders of the Earth God Dao Fruit were tied to one location for life, never venturing outside.

Jiang Li had long heard that Si Fan Valley had the ability to suppress one's powers, but this was his first personal experience of it. Subconsciously, he remembered the sect's ghost stories.

In those stories, a sect elder in Si Fan Valley had contained an Earth God Dao Fruit, turning the ground into a prison to guard the valley and correct the disciples who erred, while also confining himself.

There were rumors that this elder had made a great mistake and this act was a way to atone.

There were also rumors that the elder was heartbroken, his spirits as dead as ashes, unwilling to rejoin the world.

However, the sect had never officially confirmed these rumors, so they were relegated to the realm of ghost stories.

Jiang Li, having once discovered the Bending Flower Hand, now tended toward believing these ghost stories since the sect truly did have interior techniques.

Feng Ziyang nodded, then shook his head, saying, "There is an Earth Deity, but not here; all of Dinghu is the Divine Domain."

"The entire Dinghu is a Divine Domain?" Jiang Li felt a shock to his heart. "Then this elder's Realm must be quite high. By the way, was he really hurt in love?"

"Past matters, shouldn't be mentioned, respectable."

Feng Ziyang replied coldly and led Jiang Li into a valley. At the end of their walk, they suddenly came upon a row of stone houses.

"Two months confined, no escape, or double the penalty."

Feng Ziyang let Jiang Li into one of the vacant stone houses, taking out brush, ink, paper, inkstone, a copy of the "Yin Talisman Scripture," and two bottles of Fasting Pills from the storage bag.

This was perhaps the only perk of confinement, having Fasting Pills to eat, since no one would come here to clear away the cycle of grain. If they didn't distribute Fasting Pills, the whole of Si Fan Valley would likely stink to high heaven.

The stone door emitted a low sound as it slowly closed, blocking most of the light from outside, leaving only a tiny window that let in some light.

Looking around the room, there was a stone bed, a stone desk, and beyond that, nothing else, not even a quilt, which was extremely austere.

This was where Jiang Li would spend the next two months of his life, accompanied only by a bed, a desk, and three thousand recitations of the "Yin Talisman Scripture."

The "Yin Talisman Scripture" has three hundred characters, making it nine hundred thousand characters for three thousand recitations.

Two months, nine hundred thousand characters...

"It's like the legendary writer's cabin."

Jiang Li sighed softly, set up the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and was about to start transcribing the scripture.

The path was his own choice; if it was austere, so be it. The small cabin was better than being ambushed outside the sect by a group of experts. It was like a closed-door training.

But just before he began transcribing the "Yin Talisman Scripture," a familiar voice came from outside the small window.

"Hey~, junior brother, you're here too."

A piece of white paper drifted through the small window, swaying and gently landing on the desk in front of Jiang Li, standing upright.

It was a delicately cut paper figurine, palm-sized, very lifelike, at least Jiang Li could make out a unique charm on the paper figure's face that belonged solely to Qi Changsheng – a hint of cheekiness.

"I remember that magic shouldn't be usable inside Si Fan Valley," Jiang Li remarked, looking at the paper figure with some surprise.

"It's just a small trick using the spirit, not involving the Qi Element, so it's still usable."

The paper figure turned its body toward Jiang Li, somewhat impatiently saying, "Junior brother, is the 'Young Hero A Bin' done yet?"