Taiyi Dao Fruit

"Hmm?" Jiang Li lightly exclaimed, not showing the slightest disappointment, but instead grasped the key point, "Heavenly Monarch implies that even those not from the Ji Family might gain recognition from the Xuanyuan Sword?"

He had thought that both Xuanyuan Sword and Divine Farmer's Cauldron required blood lineage for acknowledgment, but now it seemed that lineage might not be the key.

Upon saying this, Gongsun Qi was initially startled and then burst into a resigned laugh, "Completely unmoved, yet you seize the critical intelligence. It seems I have indeed raised a great potential threat."

Thinking it over, if not for Gongsun Qi's encouragement, Jiang Li might not have reached this stage today. Even during his time as an Outer Disciple, he could have caught the attention of the Six Hall Elders and the Jiang family due to his unusual Qi Shu.

"I do owe Heavenly Monarch my thanks."

Jiang Li spoke calmly as the sword light in front of him also reached its peak, a massive divine image from top to bottom split into two by a clean sword mark.

Purified divine light scattered, transforming into magnificent light dust, and fell onto the surrounding land.

Amid the conversation, slicing the divine image in half with one sword strike, Gongsun Qi's words were in no part wrong.

Jiang Li reached out to grasp the sword light, and a long, nearly transparent sword appeared in his palm. He slowly turned, facing Gongsun Qi's apparition, and said, "As a token of appreciation, I will personally shatter Heavenly Monarch's plans."

"Are you capable?"

Gongsun Qi responded, his smile slightly narrowing as his eyes, nearly transparent, resembled the eyes of Heaven, lofty and superior.

He gently waved his sleeve, and the golden firmament lost its color as the surrounding scenery changed.

Kites appeared in the sky, and the area beyond the valley turned into forested wilderness.

Jiang Li could clearly see hundreds of wooden large birds heading west, already able to see the city ahead.

The city walls bore the flags of the Taiping Sect, clearly indicating the area occupied by them, built against a mountain, a terrain naturally suitable for defense yet difficult to attack. However, before the Flying Kites, terrain could not be relied upon.

In just a few more moments, the Flying Kites could reach the high mountains outside the city. It was viable to start an attack from a high vantage point or to forcefully land inside the city.

"Once the news of your Thousand-Mile Raid and capture of this land spreads, the morale of the armies everywhere will surely plummet, and Feng Manlou will use this opportunity to launch a swift attack, definitely regaining a lot of lost territory.

Gongsun Qi gazed at the Flying Kites, flicking his fingers lightly as a round of bright light rose, casting the figures of the Marquis of Wind and Master of Rain, "However, the Taiping Sect is also well-prepared."

In the bright light, the Marquis of Wind and Master of Rain raised their arms, and in an instant, wind and rain filled the sky, covering it like a canopy. The Flying Kites entered the storm, instantly losing direction and, under the assault of wind and rain, began collapsing and falling.

The surrounding scenes expanded grandly, centered on that city, displaying the macroscenery for hundreds, even thousands of miles, with the wind and rain engulfing this vast area.

Torrential rain poured down, comparable to the Water Disaster. Several mountains experienced mudslides within a short time.

And as the mudslides surged, numerous buried corpses were also pushed out.

In that moment, Jiang Li sensed an anomaly. The vertical mark on his brow glowed faintly, locking onto those corpses, the Eight Trigrams in his left eye simultaneously spinning.

"Locusts!"

Jiang Li saw the already decayed corpses twitching, with tiny eggs visible at the broken parts, hatching and sending out blood-red larvae.

"Locust God!"

Connecting locusts and the locust god, Jiang Li's eyes sparkled with electric sharpness, "Wind and rain block the path, plague spreads far and wide, a clever tactic."

"The Marquis of Wind and Master of Rain acting together, even fourth-rank might find it hard to navigate within, with the plague qi spreading, soldiers by the tens and hundreds of thousands will die from malignant injuries," Gongsun Qi said lightly, "Once the court's soldiers perish, the Four Gods of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning can lead the sect followers to crush the enemy conclusively."

After the lower and mid-tier combat power is nearly wiped out, the enemy fourth-rank being empowered and our side not, a visible gap in combat power will emerge. It cannot be stated victory is ensured, but the tactical advantage is indeed clear.

Gongsun Qi, having revealed this information, did not further hide it because even if his side didn't mention it, Jiang Li could deduce it, that power derived from the heavens...

The ghostly figure's gaze swept past Jiang Li's left eye.

Since hiding was no longer an option, it was better to speak openly and exert pressure, just as was happening now.

By projecting the battle situation here, it could influence Jiang Li's mind in hopes of making him stay.

Jiang Li clearly understood this situation, aware that if things continued this way, the advantage he had created could truly be leveled. However, he was not panicked, because—

"It seems someone just slandered me."

Above the changing scenery, traces like waves appeared, and a huge creature swam out from them. Its massive head, enveloped in clouds, hung down as a pair of dragon eyes watched the two figures below.

Such a grand scene definitely required the Great Venerable's involvement.

However, listening to his tone, it seemed he also knew what Gongsun Qi had previously said about him. It was unclear whether he had arrived early and quietly hid or if Gongsun Qi's mention had alerted him, prompting him to come to this place.

If it was the former, then it only showed that the Great Venerable's skin was as thick as ever—indifferent even when someone criticized him in person.

If it was the latter, that would be notable.

Both Gongsun Qi and Jiang Li had corresponding thoughts in their minds, while the Great Venerable lowered its head, level with the peak of the idol, looking at Jiang Li and Gongsun Qi, emitting a meaningful laugh.

"In the legends, once the Marquis of Wind and the Master of Rain joined forces, even the army of the Yellow Emperor was helpless against them. In the end, it was the Heavenly Maiden Ba who took action and broke the storm. In this era, although we have the Drought, unfortunately, it can't appear in the world; perhaps my subordinate should give it a try."

Saying this, the Great Venerable extended a dragon claw, pressing a fiery orb against the sky.

Immediately, the stormy scene transformed. A large amount of rainwater turned into mist, and as the fiery orb moved through the sky, a one-legged divine bird could faintly be seen within.

With this move, the Great Venerable directly sent a divine bird into the battlefield.

"Bi Fang True God from the Devil God Sect," Gongsun Qi noted, his gaze fixed on the fiery orb.

Resembling a crane but with one leg, with red patterns and a green body and a white beak, it was the great fire bird—Bi Fang.

Bi Fang, a fire attribute divine bird, ranked fourth-rank, unable to match the Thousand Miles of Barren Land caused by Drought, but currently fully capable of influencing the storm.

The divine bird soared through the air, wherever it passed, mist rose, and the wind and rain parted, allowing the Flying Kite caught in the storm a moment's breath and a chance to descend to escape from the dire straits.

Even more crucially—

'The Great Venerable's divine skills have advanced much more than before,' Gongsun Qi thought internally.

Having clashed with the Great Venerable in the past and understanding him, he knew that the Great Venerable of the past was no match for the current one.

This was undoubtedly progress made after that battle, a refinement gained with the power of the heavens.

All three of them had obtained a portion of the power of the heavens and thus progressed in their own ways. Now, meeting again, they were naturally very concerned about the performances of the others.

Thinking this, Gongsun Qi declared aloud, "Impressive divine skills."

"Naturally, they are impressive."

The Great Venerable responded unabashedly, then turned to Jiang Li, "But I wonder what benefits Jiand Family Master has gained. Feel free to show us. If you don't have enough ability, you don't qualify to compete on the same stage as me and the Heavenly Monarch. Or perhaps, Jiang Family Master could hand it over to me and let me take care of you."

Saying this, those huge dragon eyes malevolently sized up Jiang Li, seeming as if the moment Jiang Li failed to demonstrate sufficient capabilities, the leader of the Devil God Sect would abruptly attack and seize Jiang Li.

'Revenge! This was definitely revenge! But have I provoked him recently...'

Jiang Li pondered internally, 'I can't remember.'