Taiyi Dao Fruit

It's just that the Emperor is fair, yet as a member of the Royal Family, he is not impartial.

"So, thirteen years ago, you killed the third-rank of the Jiang family and seized the Ochre Whip," Tianxuan's smile gradually faded.

"Indeed, the Jiang family had wolfish ambitions and colluded with the Buddha Country, but they didn't know that I had always been watching them. When I discovered that they indeed had ties with the Buddha Country, I decided to strike first. But... what I did was far more than that, much more, hahaha."

The Earth Uncle laughed heartily, "As early as two hundred and thirty-one years ago, I had already made my move. Ji Jiji! Do you think Ji Jiji suddenly abdicated his claim to the throne before his succession for no reason? It was I who told him, I told him that once he became the Emperor, he would no longer be himself, so he gave it up."

The first Crown Prince in the history of Great Zhou, the first successor determined before the Emperor's death—Ji Jiji. He should have inherited the throne but chose to abandon it.

He did not accept the Emperor Dao Fruit, and after studying it, he left gracefully, became a Daoist, and severed ties with the Ji family.

This was something Tianxuan already knew.

What she did not know—the reason why Ji Jiji gave up the Emperor Dao Fruit, was now revealed to her by the Earth Uncle.

So, it turns out, it was the Earth Uncle causing trouble behind the scenes.

There had never been a foolish Emperor in Great Zhou, this was a universally acknowledged fact, but why there was no foolish Emperor was known to very few. At least before the current Emperor voluntarily unveiled the secret, only the head of the Gongsun family and a few old fellows of the Ji family knew.

The Princes, theoretically, should absolutely not know this secret; otherwise, what would they still be vying for the throne?

Tianxuan originally thought Ji Jiji discovered the secret with his astonishing talent, not expecting it was told to him by the Earth Uncle.

While Earth Uncle turned from gloomy to smug, saying, "The Fire Virtue World had long needed a change, only you and Ji Lingguang intended to maintain the two families jointly ruling the Jiangshan Mountain, yet you failed to realize just how many among your clansmen wanted our family to solely rule the world. Back when the Jiang family's corrupt official in the Yin Law Department rebelled, he exhausted the ghost cultivators of our older generation, do you know how many descendants those people had, how many relatives?"

"Do you think why is it that so many among the Ji family bear resentment towards the Jiang family, because they have enmity with the Jiang family."

"But wasn't it you who orchestrated all of this, Ancestor!" Tianxuan coldly interrupted.

If it weren't for the Earth Uncle causing trouble, Ji Jiji might not have abdicated the throne; if the Earth Uncle had not assassinated the third-rank of the Jiang family and seized the Ochre Whip, perhaps none of the subsequent events would have transpired.

If there's a grudge, the source of the hatred should be the Earth Uncle.

Unfortunately, the true killer wasn't the Earth Uncle.

Hearing Tianxuan's question, the Earth Uncle still smiled, seemingly disdainful of giving an answer.

Perhaps for him, even astonishing figures like the Heavenly Monarch were nothing but juniors, he even had a sense of orchestrating their lives. After all, Ji Jiji became the Heavenly Monarch now all because of the Earth Uncle.

Seeing Earth Uncle's expression, Tianxuan realized why he believed the Heavenly Monarch was still within his control, it turned out there was this layer of reason.

Just that, the Heavenly Monarch isn't someone so easily controlled.

Thinking of this, Tianxuan also started to laugh.

The laughter carried sarcasm, derision, causing Earth Uncle to slowly furrow his brows.

"What are you laughing at?" The smile on Earth Uncle's face disappeared.

The Spiritual Sense of the third-rank strong told him Tianxuan was mocking him.

"I laugh at how the Ancestor is being used as a pawn without knowing it," Tianxuan sneered, "Ancestor, you previously mentioned the Jiang family's collusion with the Buddha Country, so let me ask, who told you this news? Before the Taiping Sect's rebellion, you didn't even know that the Buddha Country's Manjusri was part of the Jiang family."

Before Earth Uncle could answer, Tianxuan replied, "The Heavenly Monarch. He was the one who told you about the Jiang family's collusion with the Buddha Country."

Earth Uncle's heart sank.

And Tianxuan then said, "The Heavenly Monarch had been influencing the Buddha Country long ago, a hundred years ago, when the Buddha Country spread Buddhism eastward, the Mahayana Sect, which led the charge, was backed by the Heavenly Monarch. Later, it was the Heavenly Monarch who attacked and killed the Jiang Family Master, and made the Emperor regain his humanity. Ancestor, it's not that he is your pawn, but rather you are his pawn."

Undoubtedly, Earth Uncle intended to disrupt the Great Zhou's situation.

And to disrupt the situation, the first obstacle was to overcome the Emperor.

From the current outcome, the Emperor's obstacle was indeed overcome, and the Great Zhou had a trend of reconstruction, but the mastermind behind all this was not Earth Uncle, but the Heavenly Monarch. The Heavenly Monarch's aim was not for the Ji family to solely rule the world.

The question arises, since the mastermind wasn't Earth Uncle, and his aims didn't align with Earth's Uncle's, why did Earth Uncle believe it was going according to his expectations, and not that he was being used by the Heavenly Monarch?

Tianxuan revealed a crucial point, her mocking words like a sharp blade, piercing through the reality that Earth Uncle wanted to hide, wanted to ignore.

"Ancestor, you now being so complacent, it's also because you fell into the Heavenly Monarch's scheme, having cultivated the 'Yin Talisman Scripture.' Perhaps at the beginning, you were the player, but now, you are merely a pawn."

"The Heavenly Monarch is the one playing the game."

One blade after another, Tianxuan grasped the key point, mercilessly breaking down Earth Uncle's facade.

"Shut up!"

A towering Yin energy surged to the sky, Earth Uncle's hair and beard all bristling, dark tiger stripes appearing on his face, with a bright red as blood eye opening at the center of his forehead.

Tianxuan also simultaneously activated the Dao Fruit, her Primordial Spirit transformed, using the profoundness of the "Form Tomb" to manifest the Kan Palace Doumu Primordial Spirit, harmonizing with the Dao Fruit, standing in opposition to Earth Uncle across the shore.

At this moment, words had lost their effect, or rather, gone too far, causing Earth Uncle to abandon rhetoric. Moving forward, it was down to force against force. Only a stronger person, only the victor, could control the affairs of the Great Zhou Dynasty.