Taiyi Dao Fruit

The blazing sun shone brightly, casting dazzling rays upon the Yellow Earth Plain and stirring up sweltering heat.

On the official road, a towering figure, eight feet tall and concealed within a gray robe, stood proudly with his chest bare, revealing solid muscles. A trace of red tinged his thick beard, complementing his rock-solid features and evoking an aura of untamed ferocity.

Clutching a wide and straight square-headed great sword with crimson streaks flickering across its blade, it seemed to carry the flow of fire under the sunlight, exuding a powerful presence.

Such a commanding figure would lead anyone who crossed paths with him to acknowledge him as a formidable bandit.

Yet, who could imagine that this was actually a descendant of Emperor Yan, a member of the Jiang family?

"Innate Qi?"

The big man, sword in one hand, gripped Jiang Luo's collar with the other, hoisting him up, "Does the master's family have the face to come to the ancestral land?"

Flame Qi surged, the man's body like a furnace, causing sweat to pour down Jiang Luo's forehead.

His anger intensified the Flame Qi, overwhelming Jiang Luo with heat to the point where he could barely open his mouth.

"Let go."

At the moment of crisis, a sword light, red as autumn maple leaves, flashed by. The big man parried with his sword, clashing with the sword light, producing a metallic ring. The Flame Qi shifted, and a hand, pale and translucent as jade, appeared out of nowhere, pressing on the arm that held Jiang Luo.

Innate Qi refined and dissolved the Flame Qi, and the big man's grip loosened. A talisman took shape and a sudden gentle breeze appeared, pushing Jiang Luo forward.

"Another Innate Qi!"

Realizing his True Qi was being restrained, the big man parried the sword light with his great sword. The blade ignited with red light, unfurling like a ribbon, and he struck towards the owner of the hand.

However, when the sword cut through the air, it met nothing but emptiness, not even the hand that had been pressing on his arm remained.

"Which branch of the family are you from?"

A clear voice sounded from behind, and as the big man turned to look, he saw a young man with a face as fair as jade, standing with his hands behind his back, his long hair slightly curled, and his posture relaxed. Judging by his pale, crystalline skin, the hand from before belonged to him.

Such looks, such bearing, at a glance, it was clear he was a pampered young master from the main house.

"I am your ancestor."

The big man bellowed, slashing his great sword diagonally behind him. The blade blazed intensely; before it even arrived, a fierce Blade Energy roared forth.

The scorching sensation hit them head-on, making the already hot surroundings even more extreme, as if the yellow earth had turned into a vast desert, the air boiling like water.

Wild and sultry, the intensity of this Flame Qi was almost on par with Gongsun Qingyue's Drought God's Energy.

As Blade Energy raged, ready to slash at Jiang Li, he suddenly sidestepped, vanishing like a mirage, leaving the fierce Blade Energy to slice through empty space.

"I am not from the main family."

Jiang Li's voice came from behind once again. The big man turned and swung his sword around, the flame becoming a blade, the swirling Flame Qi like a Fire Wheel sweeping by. But Jiang Li simply stepped back. His figure appeared real and then illusory, momentarily ethereal, as the wheel of blade light barely grazed past his face, heating his skin but failing to truly touch his form.

Using the Emperor's Qi Observation Skill, he discerned the gaps in the Qi Mechanism, the blind spots of perception, darting and moving through them. Each shift placed him in the big man's blind spots and gaps – the "one of the escapees" – rendering Jiang Li's movements elusive and phantasmal, even creating illusions due to perception.

This was the tactic Jiang Li had developed over the past two days.

Effortlessly dodging the offensive once more, Jiang Li demonstrated an ease of movement. The big man, enraged, with veins throbbing on his forehead, suddenly had a golden light emerge behind him, and the spectral figure of a Divine General appeared.

Seventh-Grade Divine General!

The Jiang and the Ji families had advanced and retreated together for many years, with only slight discrepancies in higher-Grade Dao Fruits, but the lower-grade Dao Fruits shared much commonality. The big man's chosen Divine Path incorporated the Heavenly Soldier, Merit Officer, and Divine General Dao Fruits.

Unleashing his Dao Fruit Ability, the Divine General's ability [Heavenly Gifted Divine Weapon] fused man and sword as one, with Flame Qi shooting out like blade energy. The Merit Officer's ability [Patrol the Four Directions] increased his strength by threefold.

The scorching heat continued to rise, forming a searing energy field with Flame Qi that oscillated between visibility and invisibility, bombarding and burning. Jiang Li found it impossible to avoid, while the big man surged with his great sword, fiery Sword Light amassing, its force immense as if bearing down with the weight of thousands.

This slash couldn't be dodged.

Jiang Li's magic door had not yet been fully developed, and although he could penetrate the movements of the Flame Qi, figuring out how to avoid it still required time to calculate.

However, at this moment, there was no surplus time to waste.

Realizing that Jiang Li was no longer evading, the big man's sword force surged a further threefold in an instant. Fire clouds churned as Flame Qi scorched into real flames, sweeping over like clouds, the sword force enveloping and ravaging everything like fire, burning all in its path.

In terms of offensive power alone, this was threefold fiercer than Jiang Zhuyun on that day.

Although Jiang Zhuyun was a son of the main family, his time spent in cultivation simply couldn't compare to the big man's, and though his demeanor was dark, his attacks fierce, they lacked true ferocity.

"Eat my slash!"

The sword cleaved through the air, fire clouds shrouding overhead, with searing Flame Qi descending from the sky.

Faced with such a strong move, Jiang Li ultimately couldn't easily deal with it. He had to temporarily set aside his attempts to test the magic door and bring out some real strength.

With a gesture, the long sword was in hand. Jiang Li passed his palm over the sword tip, and a talisman with the force of thunder imprinted upon it, its surging electric light cutting through the crimson fire clouds.

"Boom!"

The sword, carrying the power of thunder, cleaved into the fire clouds. Innate Qi transformed into the energy of thunder, bursting with violent thunder light.

"Ancestor, is that right?"

Jiang Li's sword struck near the edge of the large blade, like hitting a snake at its vital seven-inch mark, causing the sword force to dissipate completely. Thunder light exploded across the fire clouds, and the spread fiery blaze burst apart with a thunderous noise.

"Won't listen to people, right?"

Another sword slash, devoid of any fanciness, only fierce thunder power—once again striking the blade. Electric light traveled along with it, transmitted to the big man's palm, turning his arm numb.

"I told you to listen."

Jiang Li's sword followed one after another, as thunder roared and lightning trembled. Each slash landed on the large blade, yet the lightning continuously traveled up to the big man's hands.

Divine Farmer's appearance began to manifest as Innate Qi circulated, the sword momentum like a violent storm, an unstoppable force pouring down violently, forcing the big man to retreat again and again, his body emitting wisps of green smoke.

"Divine Farmer's appearance?!"

The big man couldn't help but show a look of shock, feeling his own bloodline churning.

To his knowledge, no one from the main family had cultivated the Divine Farmer's appearance. However, he had recently heard that a branch family gave birth to one possessing the Divine Farmer's appearance.

Could it be that he really mistook the person?

"Wait! Let's talk!" he hurriedly shouted.

But it was too late.

The final sword slash!

Thunder with the weight of thousands, flashing across the sky, the sword tip once more struck the blade, and the thunder light was transmitted into his body, plunging the big man into darkness, falling to the ground with a thud, surrounded by his own billowing green smoke.

"Whatever you want to say, wait until you wake up."

Jiang Li slowly sheathed his sword.

He remembered that he had the other disciples from the branch families go ahead to notify their clans, and he had mentioned the matter of Innate Qi. Yet, upon arriving in Fufeng, the Jiang Clan assumed he was from the main family just because of the Innate Qi.

Was this supposed to be a show of force?

If so, Jiang Li had received the message and would undoubtedly return the favor later.