Taiyi Dao Fruit

"Helped him?"

Jiang Zhuyun recalled the sudden flaw that Jiang Li had shown earlier and the almost imperceptible hiss, his heart was in turmoil.

It wasn't that he wanted to curse the other for betrayal, although the other had indeed betrayed him.

But mainly, Jiang Zhuyun was now in a situation akin to falling into mud without escape, disgraced whether it was true or not.

Once the other was caught and identified as a member of the Devil God Sect, could Jiang Zhuyun, who had helped him, really be free of involvement?

— If you weren't colluding with the Devil God Sect, why would he help you?

Such reasoning might sound unreasonable, but unreasonable as it was, it was still a reason.

Jiang Zhuyun could already envision the possible developments that would follow.

"Third Young Master, you have no way out. After Jiang Li divided your followers, you were almost driven to a dead end. I only added the final straw," a shadow under the water chuckled, "your best choice now is to cooperate with our sect."

Regardless, he could no longer separate himself from the Devil God Sect, might as well persist with the wrong path and directly let things fall apart.

Though the suggestion of cooperation from the betrayer was ironic, at the moment, it indeed was a good choice.

Jiang Zhuyun's face was cloudy and uncertain, and he remained silent for a long time.

...

...

At the highest place of the Dinghu Sect, in a side hall of Tianshu Palace.

Elder Kaiyang threw out his tentacle, and a burst of True Qi instantly fixed it in midair.

He looked around; the other four elders were all present.

"The hand of the Devil God Sect has reached into our own house. Gentlemen, any thoughts?" Elder Kaiyang's gaze finally rested on the splendidly dressed woman, Elder Tianxuan, "Tianxuan, what about you? Tianxuan Hall is the astrological heart of our sect, and you are our top divination expert, don't tell me you didn't see the trace of that octopus?"

"Divination is not omnipotent. Although it can predict individuals of no higher than third grade, if the opponent's realm is not lower than our own, there could also be interferences," Elder Tianxuan responded with a calm voice, her beautiful face veiled, giving her an air of indifference, "I indeed did not detect the trace of Heluo God. Perhaps he has already ascended to the fourth grade."

Elder Tianquan, scholarly and refined, carefully examined the tentacle and then spoke, "Though the bodies derived from the Heluo Fish Dao Fruit are numerous, their realm and the true body have a three-grade difference. This tentacle should be of seventh rank, and it is highly likely that Heluo God has advanced to the fourth grade, and considering these snake scales, his Fourth Grade Dao Fruit must be related to serpentine species."

Tianquan, the star of Wenqu, housed the largest library in Tianquan Hall, making Elder Tianquan the most knowledgeable within the sect. Since he had said so, it had to be the case.

"Moreover, although the Divine Domain of our sect has protective capabilities, in order to prevent constant disturbance from disciple conflicts, we set the alert level to fifth-rank. This clone of Heluo, being only of the seventh rank, was not enough to trigger the Divine Domain reaction," added Elder Yuheng, resembling a graceful youth.

"Hmph, you two fools, just favoring this woman," Elder Kaiyang snorted.

Both elders have always regarded Elder Tianxuan highly and naturally sought to protect her at this critical moment.

However, Elder Kaiyang knew they were not wrong.

This tentacle was weak, but its true body could be of the fourth grade, and given Heluo God's clone specializes in stealth, it was indeed hard for Elder Tianxuan to detect.

At this moment, Elder Tianji, a middle-aged man in purple robes who had been silent, spoke up, "Do you all remember the disaster that happened in the west when the Jiang family moved overseas?"

"Over ten thousand people vanished, a whole region turned into a poisonous swamp, inciting the fury of the court. Later, various factions investigated and believed it to be caused by a demon, ghost, and monster ascending to a Dao Fruit."

Then the Devil God Sect declared itself responsible for it.

Everyone recalled this incident.

Various disasters in Great Zhou were generally connected with the Devil God Sect. Regardless of involvement, as long as the event was significant, the Devil God Sect would claim responsibility, assuming blame for any major issue.

So, the explanations of that time weren't taken too seriously.

Now, it seemed, that pot wasn't necessarily false.

"A poisonous swamp, man-eating, at the time some suspected the ascended Dao Fruit was Xiang Liu, and now it seems they were not wrong," Elder Tianquan said.

The monstrous Xiang Liu, with a snake body and nine heads, devoured countless people, transforming wherever it went into a marshland, and its blood was so toxic it could render land barren, fitting both the disaster's description and the snake scales on the tentacle.

The elders analyzed the situation gradually, their expressions growing grave.

If Jiang Zhuyun again caused a disturbance of the Yinglong Dao Fruit and another fourth grade master invaded from outside, especially with the Sect Leader not within the sect, this matter indeed became difficult to handle.

They weren't scared; every one of them was of the fourth grade. However, the potential losses to the sect also needed consideration.

After a brief contemplation, all eyes converged on Elder Tianxuan.

Elder Tianxuan was in charge of divination and also originated from the respected Ji Family. With the Sect Leader away, major sect decisions were led by Elder Tianxuan. Though some elders differed in their positions from her, at this moment, they had to admit, it was Elder Tianxuan's call.

Elder Tianxuan did not disappoint.

The splendidly dressed woman was unflustered, emanating a composure as if unfazed by a crumbling Mount Tai before her. Facing everyone's attention, Elder Tianxuan softly spoke, "Fellow brothers, help me activate the Void Illusion Realm and envelop Dinghu. We shall then stand on invincible ground."

"Pull Dinghu into a dream?" Elder Kaiyang exclaimed with a mix of shock and joy.

He was shocked by the massive energy consumption and high level of magic required for such an act; for Elder Tianxuan to be able to do this meant she was not far from fourth grade perfection.

The joy, of course, came from the feasibility of this plan.

At this thought, Elder Kaiyang couldn't help but praise out loud, "Excellent strategy. Tianxuan, I've always disapproved of your aloofness, but I must admit, you are indeed qualified to act on behalf of the Sect Leader."

If the entire Dinghu went into a dream, with the Divine Domain to support, whatever happens inside would be illusory; even breaking the heavens would not hurt the sect in the slightest.

It was likely Elder Tianxuan's strategy to cope with a possible resurgence of the Yinglong Dao Fruit chaos, and now declaring it, she even addressed a potential invasion by Xiang Liu.

"Jiang Zhuyun has been driven to his limit, and a great change is about to occur."

"There's no time to delay, let us activate the Void Illusion Realm immediately."

"Indeed."

The elders made their proposals one after another, beams of light illuminating the side hall, whether divine and majestic, boundlessly ethereal, or lofty like the clouds, bristling with Sword Qi. The powerful figures atop the Dinghu Sect put forth their full strength. Various Qi mechanisms intertwined, gradually crafting an illusionary vista.