Taiyi Dao Fruit

Seeing the past in time?

Jiang Li had thought about perceiving the mysteries within the sealing, but he never expected that observing time would be the result.

He cautiously invoked the Heavenly Mirror Fragment within the Mud Ball Palace, connecting the Fragment with his Heavenly Eye. Instantly, his vision transformed, overlooking most of the Imperial City like the dome of the heavens.

And then, he discovered.

He truly saw time, but it was only the time of this place.

The Great Venerable's sealing was like a vortex, absorbing the intangible entity of time into a node. Consequently, the past information was also gathered here. Jiang Li, through the observance via the Heavenly Eye of the Great Venerable's sealing, was thus able to see this gathered information.

Realizing this, Jiang Li felt somewhat regretful and somewhat relieved.

Naturally, he regretted not truly reaching Cosmic Light, but he was relieved for the very same reason.

Before this day, Jiang Li had never delved into the Magic Doors associated with Cosmic Light. Suddenly realizing he had touched Cosmic Light, his first thought was that he had encountered an unexpected windfall. And for such windfalls, Jiang Li was always more cautious than delighted.

There was just no helping it; he, himself, was a master of deception and naturally wary of related matters.

With his mind somewhat relaxed, Jiang Li's thoughts began to stir.

"Since the sealing gathers past information..."

He began to scan through the countless images, trying to find a trace of the Great Venerable.

Perhaps, the final meeting between the Great Venerable and the Emperor could also be glimpsed among them.

The information was chaotic and disordered, akin to the waters in a pond where all was mixed together, ever-flowing. Even Jiang Li found it challenging to quickly make sense of it, but luckily he had the Karma Collection.

The Karma Collection rapidly turned pages, recording the information in the form of pictures and then Jiang Li organized them in the Karma Collection.

Thousands upon thousands of pages were flipped through, rearranged under Jiang Li's control, and slowly the information became complete.

He saw the measures tried by Tianxuan after the Emperor was sealed, as well as the various figures who came to investigate, both overtly and covertly, at different times, including the Prince, the families, and other members of the Royal Family.

Information was sorted step by step until that day.

The Emperor was moved to the front of the palace, and then the Great Venerable suddenly appeared. They had a brief conversation, followed by the Candle Dragon opening its eyes, and the Emperor being sealed.

From the images alone, there were neither earth-shattering battles nor mystical Magic Doors. It was merely a flash of light, and the Emperor was excluded with no harvest to speak of.

But then—

"There's information from before." A curiosity arose in Jiang Li's heart.

There was information before the Great Venerable's arrival. The sealing had already been present.

Pages turned once more as he continued to comb through the information, right back to the origin of the sealing.

Jiang Li saw it.

His gaze shifted through the endless brilliance, scouring back and forth, locking onto a figure.

—Feng Manlou!

He saw Feng Manlou appear in front of the palace gates one evening, a phantom flew from his body and merged into the void. Time from that moment was also absorbed and sealed within the formed sealing.

"No wonder... No wonder, at that time, despite the Imperial City being sealed and even the Emperor's Dao Fruit Divine Power being restricted, the Great Venerable appeared and vanished out of thin air without causing any ripples. I thought it was the unique aspect of the Cosmic Light Divine Ability that could ignore the seal, but now it seems, from the beginning, the Great Venerable was already here."

"He stored a Divine Skill and Divine Thought here, then waited for the Emperor's arrival. The Divine Skills came from the void to reality, Divine Thought materialized, and after conversing with the Emperor, sealed him."

"At that time, the Great Venerable was not in the Imperial City at all—the Candle Dragon that appeared was in fact a manifestation of Divine Thought."

"No wonder the Heavenly Monarch found no trace of the Great Venerable before departing. It turns out this old schemer had his tactics well laid out in advance."

Realizing this, Jiang Li felt there was still much room for improvement on the path of cunning compared to these old-timers.

After recognizing this, Jiang Li intended to withdraw his Heavenly Eye, but after a careful thought, decided to continue.

"The Great Venerable has encountered a formidable foe, and even if this old schemer has any arrangements in place, it would be difficult to activate them now. I have no fear of being tricked here. Now is the perfect time to get a glimpse of the Cosmic Light Divine Ability. If I can understand its essence, even if I face it in the future, I will be better prepared."

At heart, Jiang Li did hold some precaution against the Great Venerable.

Although he now possessed the Fuxi Bloodline, he still couldn't place complete trust in the Great Venerable. In today's world, perhaps only Tianxuan and Gongsun Qing Yue, who knew Jiang Li through and through, could earn his full trust.

With this in mind, the Eight-Nine Profound Skill began to circulate, and a crystalline layer covered the Heavenly Eye on his forehead, his pupils almost transparent like a mirror.

Or rather, it was a mirror.

The Eight-Nine Profound Skill excelled at transformation. The accomplished Qingyuan Miaodao True Monarch could even transform all things, not confined to humans, divinities, ghosts, demons, nor limited by the tangible or intangible.

Jiang Li hadn't reached that Realm yet but had gained some insight.

He transformed the Heavenly Eye to be consistent with the Heavenly Mirror Fragment, integrating the two as if recreating a facet of the Heavenly Divine Mirror. His gaze pierced through the infinite brilliance, and his Divine Thought delved in.

His thoughts, in this moment, transcended and sublimated. Jiang Li felt his consciousness surpass his bodily form as the True Qi within him constantly converted into Divine Essence, sustaining the traversal of his Divine Thought. The surrounding glittering images of light appeared to slow down.