Taiyi Dao Fruit

"Manipulating through thin air, leaving no trace, devoid of the smoke and fire of magic, indeed remarkable." The Great Venerable nodded in agreement.

By now, the Great Venerable had realized that the growth of this younger brother had far exceeded expectations and had become enough to manipulate situations.

Although he had not yet reached the level of the Supreme, given time and if allowed to arrange, he might cleverly use the power of heaven and earth to compete with those of the third grade.

It was just unknown whether his true strength had reached the level of the third grade.

"Brother, your rapid progress truly astonishes me," the Great Venerable deeply exclaimed.

The sudden change in title made Gongsun Qi glance at the two men, and though his expression remained unchanged, the Great Venerable knew the other party was now on alert.

Earlier, when the two had pretended, Gongsun Qi had remained unmoved. Now that the Great Venerable explicitly mentioned their relationship, it inadvertently made Gongsun Qi sense a certain shift. It seemed there indeed was a rift between the two.

Jiang Li and the Great Venerable together could certainly pose a threat to Gongsun Qi, and if Gongsun Qi were to deal with the two, he would naturally target the weaker one, known colloquially as 'squeeze the soft persimmon.'

Jiang Li was that soft persimmon.

The Great Venerable revealing their identities was not without this thought in mind.

And Jiang Li, upon hearing the Great Venerable's title, confirmed his long-held suspicion, 'So it was indeed you.'

The Great Venerable was indeed the Dragon King's Son-in-law from Feng Manlou.

Guessing was one thing, but it wasn't until the Great Venerable personally admitted it that the information truly solidified, reducing hesitation in future uses.

Each of the three harbored thoughts, below a calm surface turbulent undercurrents flowed, and until the actual results appeared, none could know who might have the last laugh, or if anyone would.

Nevertheless, at the moment, Jiang Li and the Great Venerable held a clear advantage.

After the Great Venerable acknowledged their relationship, Jiang Li had already aligned with him, and even if Gongsun Qi perceived a rift, they were now together against Gongsun Qi.

After a gap was opened in the storm domain, sunlight shone through, fireballs transformed by the Bi Fang Demon God patrolled the skies, causing the rain to gradually cease while the strong winds could no longer confuse spatial orientations. At least in this region, the time had begun to shift towards neutrality.

"Marquis of Wind and Master of Rain could actually continue casting. If they employ the Jiuli Vast Sky Realm Law, then even with me and the Bi Fang Demon God taking action, we cannot directly break the Jiuli Vast Sky Realm Law," Jiang Li observed the clear heavenly phenomena and said.

"But in doing so, Marquis of Wind and Master of Rain would have to exert full effort, and their consumption would be absolutely substantial. If a fourth-rank takes this opportunity to approach, the two would likely face grave danger," the Great Venerable added with a smile.

Besides, Feng Manlou was also present.

The last time it was Feng Manlou who led people through the Jiuli Vast Sky Realm Law, and this time Feng Manlou was most likely able to do it again. Hence, a fourth-rank approaching Marquis of Wind and Master of Rain was entirely possible.

While speaking, human figures had already appeared in the surrounding mountains; three thousand pioneer Heavenly Soldiers had arrived after a long journey.

The first city Feng Manlou chose to attack was named "Chanting," a county city situated on a critical path. If they could take down this city, then they could directly attack the remaining three counties and swiftly reclaim the jurisdiction of Chanting County.

Taiping Sect's morale had greatly dropped due to Jiang Li's sudden raid, and should they lose another jurisdiction, internal disorder within their ranks would inevitably arise.

Currently, many within the Taiping Sect were locally recruited from Liangzhou Province and had not been in the sect for long. If the Taiping Sect maintained victories, it would be good, but in defeat, some would immediately harbor thoughts of rebellion.

If this disadvantageous situation continued, the Taiping Sect would only have to send forth their fourth-rank. Yet in the current war, those who fought first were undoubtedly at a disadvantage.

Not to speak of the constraints caused by the gathered momentum and energy, just the power expended by a fourth-rank in combat was enough to give later-entering enemy fourth-ranks an advantage.

"In such a situation, how should Heavenly Monarch respond?"

Jiang Li said this while monitoring the battle.

At this time, the Flying Kites that had landed earlier underwent transformation on the surrounding mountains, operated by Mo Sect disciples. The intact Flying Kites surprisingly converted into bases, and then cannon-like mechanisms emerged from the bases after iron cases were taken out and fixed on them.

The nozzles adjusted their aim, targeting the city from various mountaintops.

At the same time, the three thousand Heavenly Soldiers continued their assault unabated, now approaching the city. Named Heavenly Soldiers, in reality, the lowest among them were eighth-rank Merits, with fifth-rank masters among them. Once they approached the city, they could break through the city gates within moments.

And...

Jiang Li looked towards the Great Venerable.

The Great Venerable was also looking over, his eyes slightly squinting, revealing a smile.

"Heavenly Monarch doesn't act, then let this venerable intervene."

As his voice fell, a strange wind suddenly rose, and demon energy appeared in various places around Chanting County.

Jiang Li looked and saw that from the ground in various parts of the city, oddly shaped Devil Cultivators burst forth, rampaging and slaughtering everywhere. Among them were some who revealed their Demon Forms; some transformed into bears, wolves, tigers, and leopards, others into snakes, insects, birds, or monsters—all of them killing on sight, indulging their demonic nature.

The city instantly became chaotic.

Outside the city, the mechanical cannons had been adjusted, and three thousand Heavenly Soldiers were rapidly approaching.

However, just as the three thousand Heavenly Soldiers reached the highway, an unexpected change occurred. Countless white paper snowflakes fluttered from the nearby hill and landed ahead, turning out to be paper figures and paper horses.

Runes lit up on the white paper, and as the paper figures and horses touched the ground, they transformed into fierce and terrifying cavalry, charging at the three thousand Heavenly Soldiers.

At the short-range encounter, the two sides immediately collided, battling into a chaotic mess.

The cavalry, all transformed from paper figures and horses, had no conventional weaknesses. Although their strength was inferior to that of the Heavenly Soldiers, their numbers were five times greater. Swarming in, they immediately halted the charge of the three thousand Heavenly Soldiers.

"Divine Descent Skill of the Upper Pure Sect?" Jiang Li raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He also knew this paper figure Divine Descent Technique, having learned it from Luu Tianpeng.

In the past, Luu Tianpeng, the Heavenly Monarch, loved reading Spring Palace Storybooks and was a rustic man. He used to gather disciples in Si Fan Valley and entertained himself by attaching the Divine Descent Skill to paper figures to fight.

The origin of this technique was indeed from the Upper Pure Sect.

Jiang Li had thought that Luu Tianpeng had obtained it due to the Upper Pure Sect's accidental dissemination. After all, Divine Descent Skill was not a profound magic, and most disciples from the Upper Pure Sect could perform it; it being spread outside was not out of the ordinary. But now it seemed that Luu Tianpeng... or rather Gongsun Qi, had early connections with the Upper Pure Sect.

This also explained why Yun Jiuye could easily persuade the Upper Pure Sect.

"Tens of thousands of paper figure Divine Descents; this isn't something that a typical Upper Pure Sect member could manage. The caster must have mastered Planting Beans into Soldiers and is likely one of the Upper Pure Sect's Fourth-Grade Elders."

Great Venerable casually observed the paper figures and determined the caster's grade, adding, "The secret weapons hidden under the Heavenly Monarch are truly surprising; one wonders how many more hidden moves there are."

"No need to disappoint you both," Gongsun Qi said indifferently.

"I indeed hope that the Heavenly Monarch will bring out all his secret weapons," Jiang Li laughed, "The more secret weapons used, the more it shows how much we have pressured him."

It would be best if all secret weapons were exhausted, allowing their side to dismantle them one by one.

The three looked down on the battlefield, manipulating the situation with a few words as if playing a game of chess, controlling the fate of the battle.

And amidst this chess game, life after life fought and perished, vying against each other until one side retreated or was annihilated.

Lower Four Grades as soldiers, Top Five Grades as generals, each side made their moves to affect the strategic situation.

When all pieces were in place, it was time for those playing the game to enter the field.

'Heavenly Monarch, Gongsun Qi, Ji Jiji, will you take the stage? Or will you hide again?'

Jiang Li pondered silently.

If Gongsun Qi was set on leaving, even the Great Venerable could not keep him. Finding him again next time would not be so easy.

However, in this unprecedented situation, which hadn't occurred in eight hundred years, once this chance was missed, there might not be another. Gongsun Qi might not be able to let go.

Of course, all this talk still required the Taiping Sect to be crushed first.