Taiyi Dao Fruit

"There's demon energy."

Jiang Li suddenly felt something, walked outside, and looked towards the west.

Where the rain had previously been pouring, it had now stopped, but the gloomy clouds remained dismal, and even as they churned, a few strands of dark red could be seen faintly emerging.

This was demon energy.

The demon energy mentioned here was not the energy of demons, but an abnormal energy. They say where there's anomaly, there's the presence of demons; all abnormal energies are considered demon energies. Of course, this could further be divided into evil qi and malevolent qi among others.

However, the appearance of this demon energy was precisely in the area where the heavy rain had fallen before, and that made it genuinely demon energy.

"The energy showing dark red color is indicative of murderous acts."

Gongsun Qingyue subsequently came out, saw the scene, and analyzed, "Such a scene typically appears only where there has been a mass killing."

She was also a carrier of the Warlock Dao Fruit, and although her skills in Qi Observation were not as good as Jiang Li's, her Warlock Dao Fruit had reached Perfection, and her training under Tianxuan meant she was not lacking in this area either; she instantly recognized the cause of the anomaly.

However, the number of people Jiang Li and the others had killed previously did not exceed thirty—a significant number indeed, but not quite a mass slaughter.

"So," Jiang Li continued, "there must be an object that stimulated the blood qi and resentment."

And the object the two of them could think of at the moment was only one possibility—demon energy.

The intense demon energy had stimulated the blood qi and resentment, or rather, the two had combined, leading to the anomaly in the dark clouds.

"The Transformation Snake has fed, and the quality of the Blood Meal is not low, making the demon energy intense and difficult to contain," Jiang Li said. "They are not planning to leave."

The old saying goes, 'Before the army moves, the provisions must go first,' as a full stomach is essential for fighting. Conversely, being well-fed means preparation for battle.

Jiang Li and his companion had taken preemptive action against their adversaries, striking at their weak point, and the adversaries were unwilling to concede defeat just yet. Now, they were fully prepared to reveal their hostility.

What else could be done?

They could only fight it out with force against force.

"Jiang Huaimin."

Gongsun Qingyue's voice rang out sternly, "The thieves intend to resist desperately, and the guilty official Ren Zihe must be involved too. Having been an official for many years, Ren Zihe surely possesses other objects of reverence locally..."

"Send someone immediately to destroy all statues, portraits, and tokens of faith," commanded Jiang Huaimin, his tone fierce.

As Ren Zihe's advisor, Jiang Huaimin was well aware of Ren Zihe's symbols of authority and knew that removing Ren Zihe's influence was the best strategy. Jiang Huaimin himself was determined to make a name for himself through this action.

It was quite ruthless, but there was no other choice, for the sake of his family and himself, he had to betray his old superior.

"This is an order to dismiss him from office; take it and show it so that the government officials and major householders in the county will assist in destroying Ren Zihe's symbols of authority, without fail," Gongsun Qingyue instructed as she handed over the order sealed with the Jade Seal.

With this order, Ren Zihe's Divine Domain could not suppress others, and it also provided Jiang Huaimin with a moral high ground.

Jiang Huaimin took the order with both hands and immediately ran to the front hall of the county government, beginning to rally people for action.

Meanwhile, Gongsun Qingyue took out the Jade Seal again, her expression showing a hint of conflict.

"Ren Zihe will have no power to resist against this seal, and he will definitely try to separate us to deal with you," Gongsun Qingyue said.

"So..." Jiang Li tentatively asked.

Gongsun Qingyue's expression of conflict deepened, and even a faint blush appeared on her face. She pondered repeatedly, then with a grit of her teeth and a stamp of her foot, she said, "So I will infuse it with Divine Essence in advance and have you imitate my True Qi to activate the Jade Seal."

It was indeed a good plan, but there was one difficult hurdle—how Jiang Li could imitate Gongsun Qingyue's True Qi.

His Innate Qi truly possessed extreme malleability, but to operate a magic artifact that clearly belonged to her, mere simulation was not enough; it required complete transformation.

Initially, Jiang Li had seized Jiang Zhuyun's Power, taking everything from him simply to use Jiang Zhuyun's storage magic tool; now, of course, Jiang Li couldn't possibly seize Gongsun Qingyue's Power, so there was only one option left—Energy Transmission and Melding.

This method required testing trust because wherever the True Qi went, its master would sense it, and after a Circulation of Qi, the internal state was roughly known to the other party.

Moreover, the advanced version of this method had a famous name—Dual Cultivation.

Thus, Senior Sister Gongsun was now feeling shy.

So, should Jiang Li agree? His body harbored not a few secrets, such as the balanced Three Elements.

"Let's start then," Jiang Li agreed without hesitation.

A woman had already spoken to such an extent; if Jiang Li still refused, did he no longer wish to enter the Gongsun Family's door?

Was it just revealing some secrets?

No big deal.

This was a small step for Jiang Li, yet a giant leap for the affiliated son-in-law, to charge forth for the sake of being supported.

The two glanced at each other, Gongsun Qingyue's pretty face serious, palpable tension visible, while Jiang Li appeared calm, acting as if he didn't know what the advanced version of Energy Transmission and Melding entailed.

Just then, Gongsun Qingyue looked at him, suddenly without her usual wariness.

'He's nervous too.'

This thought suddenly emerged in Gongsun Qingyue's mind, instinct telling her that the junior brother before her was also nervous.

Previously, when displaying the Bending Flower Hand, he was utterly bold, even writing Spring Palace Storybooks, once leaving Gongsun Qingyue nearly faint from mutual torment, his mind filled with thoughts of being supported; but now, at this critical moment of just transmitting energy, Jiang Li felt nervous.

'Quite cute.' A laugh formed in Gongsun Qingyue's heart, suddenly diminishing her nervousness by half.

This intense contrast made her suddenly feel a sense of anticipation.

As for Jiang Li...

[His spirit was already completely shaped like that of an old lecher, yet his body remained surprisingly pure, still involuntarily feeling nervous.]

[Is this what a virgin looks like?]

[How sad.]

······

The Karma Collection continuously refreshed its text, reflecting Jiang Li's self-loathing for his lack of competitiveness.

The two walked side by side into the house, sat down on the empty floor, and proceeded without any interaction, like two mechanism figures following a preset program.

Their palms met, True Qi flowed, pure Innate Qi came into contact with an extremely hot Qi Mechanism.

'Hmm? Such searing heat, even fiercer and more domineering than the Fire Attribute True Qi from Jiang Zhuyun's Middle Dantian.' This thought popped into Jiang Li's mind.

Gongsun Qingyue, however, suddenly widened her Phoenix Eyes, "What's up with this talismanic seed? And what's with this Cultivation Technique of yours?"

It seemed, Jiang Li had forgotten that he was supposed to keep his cultivation of the Yinglong Transformation a secret from Gongsun Qingyue...

"Great, she actually secretly taught you the Yinglong Transformation!"

"Truly is a good master of mine, wishing I would lose?"

Noticing the several talismanic seeds already formed inside Jiang Li's body, the remaining nervousness in Gongsun Qingyue's heart was swept away completely, leaving only a grudge.

'Just you wait!'