Taiyi Dao Fruit

The smile didn't disappear, it just shifted from Jiang Zhuyun's face to Jiang Li's.

"Your scheming is extremely sinister, but my caution far surpasses your malevolence,"

a line flashed across the Karma Collection, and with a long sword in hand, Jiang Li strode forward. "Come, let me witness the power of Jiang's Divine Skill."

The golden light of the Six Ding and Six Jia Protection Talisman spread over his body, Jiang Li's entire being saturated with Qi, he stepped closer, gradually narrowing the distance, letting the threat permeate Jiang Zhuyun's mind and spirit.

"Your True Qi is raging right now, your mind and spirit disturbed by the failure of your plots, I can see through your Qi, your spirit, even to the depths of the muscles around your body. All three elements within you are affected, what will you use to fight me? Brother Ji, you should honestly display your Divine Skill, otherwise, I fear for your life."

Jiang Li's words were sharp as swords, harsh and probing, especially pinpointing Jiang Zhuyun's sensitive points, igniting extreme anger within him.

This anger made his True Qi even more tempestuous, leading to an increasingly severe backlash, forcing Jiang Zhuyun to divert his attention to suppress it.

All these changes were also seen by Jiang Li, inspiring certain thoughts in his heart.

His initial intention was to provoke Jiang Zhuyun with his words and threaten him, but the discovery at hand gave Jiang Li an opportunity.

The nature of a person shapes their mind, and their mind cultivates their Qi. The three elements are closely interlinked; to attack the Qi is to defeat the spirit; to defeat the spirit is to attack the Qi—once Qi and spirit falter, Essence will also be damaged.

Observing the changes in the mind and Qi, he aimed to attack Qi, defeat the heart, and kill the body, breaking all three elements cleanly.

In his eyes appeared the Eight Trigrams Image and the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, surrounded by star symbols forming an array, a bright light emerged on his body like Jade Crystal, Jiang Li fully observed Jiang Zhuyun's Qi, to see into his heart, calculating with the Six Trigrams Method.

"Your heart is in disarray."

The sword tip suddenly rose, slicing without any warning during Jiang Zhuyun's moment of mental agitation and Qi disturbance.

This sword strike, like a flash of light, mirrored in Jiang Zhuyun's eyes, seemed to slash directly at his heart, causing further turmoil within it.

"How dare a mere subsidiary family oppose me!"

Jiang Zhuyun's anger deepened, not just because of the current situation but also due to Jiang Li's condescending stance. "If it weren't for my momentary carelessness..."

Had it not been for that moment of carelessness, this miscalculation, he, Jiang Zhuyun, would not have ended up in such a predicament.

Distracted in suppressing the backlash, Jiang Zhuyun was still unwilling to admit defeat. His body radiated Divine Light, enhancing his own skills with the power of the Dao Fruit. His fingers clenched into a fist, the Fist Seal like a cauldron, solid as a mountain, massive strength naturally emerging, even drawing the sword blade towards the fist's edge.

"Clang!"

The fist and the sword collided, emitting a crisp clang, Jiang Zhuyun's hand was firmer than iron, his massive Qi and fierce Fist Power not only blocked the sword tip but also shook the sword, striking directly at the core.

His power was profound, also being at the Seventh Grade Realm; even though he needed to divert his attention, he still had residual strength. His Divine Attribute Dao Fruit bestowed three layers of Divine Body, which were superior to Jiang Li's. At this moment, his strike, still astounding under the enhancement of "Patrol the Four Directions."

But Jiang Li, now anticipating the enemy, one step ahead, how could he have not calculated Jiang Zhuyun's counterattack?

The long sword in his hand shattered and reformed, then twisted around his arm in a snake shape, entwining the fierce strength, Jiang Li extended his fingers to draw talisman, casting spells out of thin air, the Six Paths Ice Talismans instantly formed, flying towards Jiang Zhuyun and emitting cold air.

Jiang Zhuyun's altered cultivation technique was ferocious and intense, producing a True Qi as violent as molten lava and as fierce as a flood dragon. The coldness of the Freezing Ice Talisman penetrated, causing that True Qi to react explosively, becoming even more violent, making Jiang Zhuyun emit an intense heat as if he had been roasted.

His arm was restrained, and the backlash of True Qi intensified, making Jiang Zhuyun's situation increasingly difficult, while Jiang Li at this moment was spirited and agile. A small viper flew out from between his eyebrows and headed toward Jiang Zhuyun's left eye like a bolt of lightning.

If it struck, the viper would pierce through the eyeball and enter the brain, making Jiang Zhuyun's death inevitable!

Death?!

This thought sprang up in the mind of the Third Young Master of the Jiang family. Suddenly, his mind went blank, disregarding the protective divine skills and his status within the family.

He only thought about how he was going to be killed.

Once dead, there would be nothing left.

And indeed, Jiang Li intended to kill him. Failing to obtain the cultivation technique and killing Jiang Zhuyun would still be a significant gain, concluding all matters.

If Jiang Zhuyun was determined to protect the cultivation technique, he might as well take his divine skills with him to hell.

At that moment, a transformation occurred within Jiang Zhuyun's body. The energy from the Middle Dantian merged with his blood, creating boundless life force; the energy emerging from the Lower Dantian took root, exemplifying the virtue of bearing all things; the energy produced by the Qi Sea in the lower reaches surged from the tail of the great spinal dragon, forming a solid foundation. The three energies converged, and a stream of flame refined his entire body, polishing the Qi Mechanism like the universe's furnace, crafting transformation.

The three Qi Seas manifested True Qi simultaneously, yet due to their different locations, they refined different qualities.

Around Jiang Zhuyun, the shape of a mountain formed. The viper's shadow flew into it, visibly slowing down and becoming completely immobile in front of Jiang Zhuyun's face as if trapped in amber.

"Hidden Abyss."

Jiang Zhuyun finally displayed the technique of "Qi Tomb," calming the restless, rebounding True Qi within his body with a flip of his hand, freeing his power completely.

Jiang Li, too, obtained what he desired.

Within the transparent Torso, the homogenous True Qi rapidly transformed. In the Lower Dantian, a flame seemed to be burning, further solidifying the liquid True Qi.

Jiang Li felt his whole body move, the True Qi inwardly condensed, drawing all his energy into the Lower Dantian, even the external golden light was pulled in, subjected to refinement, and in the blink of an eye, a vigorous, fire-like energy flow surged out from the Dantian, spreading throughout his body, making the crystal-like structure of his body show clear veins.

"Boom!"

The Qi Mechanism erupted from every pore of his body, colliding with the mountain shape, causing both Jiang Li and Jiang Zhuyun to violently shake, their expressions vastly different.

Jiang Li's face showed joy, for he felt the True Qi obeying his will, turning thoughts into talismans, and a large Six Ding and Six Jia Protection Talisman appeared behind him.

Jiang Zhuyun, however, grew more somber, as he sensed his blood and Qi surging like a tide, vaguely moving toward Jiang Li's position, as if to submit or to pay homage.

Jiang Li's Divine Farmer's appearance advanced further.

At the same time, the talisman emitted golden light, and twelve divine shadows swiftly took shape, colliding with the mountain shape, causing an explosive wave of energy that shattered the top of the Water Pavilion and cracked the platform underneath, with the edges where Jiang Zhuyun stood slowly collapsing.

"Bang!"

Jiang Li shot backward like a cannonball, the protection talisman behind him dimmed significantly, having been at a disadvantage in the collision, his blood and Qi roiled, and upon landing, he staggered back several steps.

Jiang Zhuyun, with fresh blood spilling from his mouth, forcibly executed a move while redirecting his Qi, causing him a severe internal injury.

However, compared to the pain and hatred in his heart, the injuries on his body seemed trivial.