Taiyi Dao Fruit

Being an official in a fantasy world is a dangerous job, because you never know when a powerful individual will find you disagreeable and simply come over to pluck off your head.

Especially in this world where there isn't any kind of dynasty divine protection; killing officials is no different from killing ordinary people. There won't be any recoil, making being an official even more perilous.

However, despite the danger, this does not mean there is no guarantee of life.

Each court official possesses a Dao Fruit. Ninth Grade is Earth Deity, Eighth Rank is Stove God, Seventh Rank are Mountain or River Gods, and Sixth Rank is City God. The officials are the Earth Deities of their respective territories. The area under their jurisdiction becomes their Divine Domain. Within their Divine Domain, they can suppress enemies, as well as draw upon the power of the land to defend and counter-attack.

Even if they cannot prevail, they can escape at any time. Dao Fruits like the Earth Deity's are indeed the first choice for any official to have.

Furthermore, with a Dao Fruit, one can always listen to the appeals of the people within their jurisdiction and arrive at the scene as quickly as needed. This deeply embodies the duties of the parent official, and one can also advance the Dao Fruit by pacifying the people, truly killing two birds with one stone.

But if the governance is poor, then public grievances will swell, and the official's Dao Fruit integration speed will also slow down, or even backlash may occur. The court can then use this to judge whether the official is competent.

It can be said that Dao Fruits are a critical part of the Divine Country's court system.

These are things the common folk know, and also what Jiang Li and others are aware of.

What they don't know is that Gongsun Qingyue possesses the ability to command officials from around the region. The Pure Light from the Jade Seal in her hand radiated an invisible authority, intimidating Ren Zihe so much that he didn't dare to raise his head.

Jiang Li could even use the Emperor's Qi Observation Skill to see Ren Zihe's Qi Mechanism weakened to the extreme, with no power to resist, completely subdued by the Jade Seal.

"The soft rice of the Gongsun Family is even more attractive than I imagined." This was Jiang Li's first thought; he had witnessed the power of the Gongsun Family once again.

"The court's Dao Fruits are a trap. An official is so powerless before a true superior." That was Jiang Li's second thought.

With such dominance over the officials, no wonder Great Zhou had been stable for hundreds of years, with no major rebellions ever occurring.

The gap between Cultivators and non-Cultivators is already large, and Cultivators within the system are also constrained and cannot revolt against their superiors. With this, a hierarchy is established between superiors, regulated Cultivators (officials), and non-Cultivators (common people), solidifying the class structure. Unless there is a cataclysmic upheaval, Great Zhou's Jiangshan will continue for an eternity.

Gongsun Qingyue did not know Jiang Li's intention to rely on the metaphorical soft rice or his guess about the court's Dao Fruits.

Holding the Jade Seal, she pointed towards the rain cloud that had not yet dissipated in the distance and asked, "Do you know the situation of the rains in the territory where that rain cloud is located?"

"This..." Ren Zihe looked towards the distance and hesitantly replied, "Although it is within the jurisdiction of our county, it has always been uninhabited, so I haven't paid much attention. I only remember that there have been sudden downpours and unpredictable weather over the past few days."

"How many days exactly?" Gongsun Qingyue asked in a grave tone.

Her voice carried an undeniable majesty, unlike that of a Mystic Sect Disciple, but rather resembling that of royal offspring. Qi Changsheng, who had followed her out, felt a chill in his heart at her presence.

"Junior Brother, the soft rice of the Gongsun Family doesn't seem easy to eat. You'd better be careful," Qi Changsheng secretly transmitted his thoughts.

By now, Qi Changsheng had begun to speculate about Gongsun Qingyue's identity.

Such power and authority, if Jiang Li indeed takes on this role, then the future... tsk, it's hard to say.

"No need to worry, Senior Brother. What I am best at is eating soft rice the hard way," Jiang Li responded with a transmission of his own.

She is strong, but I am stronger. Who will lead in the future is still up in the air.

But the Jingyun County Magistrate did not have the same daring nature as Jiang Li. However, he wasn't too shabby either, and under Gongsun Qingyue's pressure, Ren Zihe still managed to stably respond, "It should have been four days now."

"Four days of torrential rain confined to one area, appearing from time to time, and you didn't have any suspicions?"

Gongsun Qingyue's eyebrows rose slightly, revealing a trace of sharp vigor, and with a flash of Pure Light from the Jade Seal, a talisman appeared above Ren Zihe's Heavenly Spirit with a flow of red light.

As the Pure Light shifted, the talisman seemed poised to fall.

Ren Zihe's Qi Mechanism was suppressed to the extreme, turning him into an ordinary person. It was clear that if the talisman truly fell, his condition would be dire.

"I did have suspicions, but because there have been bandits in the county recently, people being robbed, I've been busy dealing with that. I forgot to investigate the abnormality here temporarily," Ren Zihe said, his strength suppressed but his mind still stable.

His words were logical and did not constitute negligence.

Gongsun Qingyue seemed to believe what he said. The Pure Light retracted, and the talisman disappeared with it.

She ordered, "There are demonic people causing trouble in this place. Go quickly and inform the Divine Travel Grand Protector to report to the county government and have the head of the Divine Travel Grand Protectors of our county come to see me."

"Yes." Ren Zihe bowed again and slowly sank into the ground amid the mist.

With the speed of an Earth Deity in his own Divine Domain, Ren Zihe should be able to find the Divine Travel Grand Protector within two quarters, and by tonight at the latest, the chief of the local Divine Travel Grand Protectors should come here. As for the county government side, they should be able to gather some forces to come by tomorrow.

Provided, of course, that all goes well.

"Sister, what do you think?" Gongsun Qingyue turned to look at Jiang Li.

She knew Jiang Li had an ability close to mind-reading. In fact, suppressing Ren Zihe's Qi Mechanism was to facilitate Jiang Li's Emperor's Qi Observation Skill, making it easier for Jiang Li to observe Ren Zihe's Qi.

"Although he did not panic, overall, he seems consistent inside and out. If his surprise wasn't caused by seeing Cao Yuanlong, then he should be trustworthy," Jiang Li observed, looking towards the captive not far behind.

It was when his power was completely supressed by the Pure Light that Ren Zihe's surprise was not as evident as when he saw Cao Yuanlong.

Gongsun Qingyue could read between the lines, feeling both annoyed and a sense of inevitability, "Just as I suspected, if they were going to do something that can't be exposed, they wouldn't fail to manage the area around them. I'd actually prefer to believe that those bandits are the Taiping Sect's means, but reality inevitably defies wishes."

The presence of bandits was actually enough to distract the County Magistrate from this small anomaly, but the Taiping Sect went even further, turning the County Magistrate into one of their own.

Such actions revealed an ominous intent.

The Taiping Sect's ambitions were large, even targeting court officials.

'I'm also very frustrated. Why did the ancestral land of the Jiang family have to be in Yong Province?' Jiang Li felt helpless, realizing the grand schemes of the Taiping Sect.

The branches of the Jiang family were also trying to stick together, many of them moving towards Yong Province, because the ancestral land of the Jiang family, Jiang Shui, was in Yong Province!