Taiyi Dao Fruit

The carriage raced along the road, still driven by Luu Wangji and Jiang Luo, while Jiang Li, Gongsun Qingyue, Feng Manlou, and Qi Changsheng sat inside.

Jiang Yang, the thief, was tied on the roof to enjoy the wind.

Inside the carriage, Jiang Li turned to Gongsun Qingyue and said, "I saw the Qi Mountain County Magistrate at the Jiang Mansion."

Gongsun Qingyue immediately furrowed her brows.

"What is he doing there?" her voice grew slightly colder.

"A noble wishes to help the Qi Mountain Jiang Family," Jiang Li stated.

As to why they wanted to assist the Qi Mountain Jiang Family, Jiang Li didn't say, but Gongsun Qingyue could guess.

And she could also guess who this noble was.

The only ones who could interfere in Jiang Li's efforts to consolidate the Jiang family's power would be someone from the Ji Family.

Being an affiliated son-in-law isn't easy; not yet officially part of the family, and possibly soon to confront his own family. He just hoped that in the end, he wouldn't have to resort to sacrificing a relative to heaven.

'Things are getting more and more troublesome,' Jiang Li sighed inwardly.

The situation was complex and intertwined, and now Jiang Li was even considering withdrawing from it all. But consolidating the Jiang Family was not only his goal, it was also a need for the Sect.

Jiang Li needed the Jiang Family as his base, and the Sect intended to eliminate the threat of the main family returning one day, seeking to cut off the main family's support in advance. This was a mutual need, making it difficult for Jiang Li to simply withdraw.

'Fortunately, this doesn't affect my cultivation, and even better, I have found the key to achieving Dao Fruit Perfection,' Jiang Li looked at the scroll on the small table.

His True Qi flowed automatically; whether he was lying down, sitting, or walking, he was always cultivating. His power increased daily, occasionally assisted by ingesting a couple of elixirs to aid his practice. Now, both of his Qi Seas were nearly brimming and perfect.

As for the Dao Fruit, he also had a target.

The spread of the Spring Palace Storybooks had always been providing Jiang Li with assistance, increasing the integration progress bit by bit, which, over time, amounted to a substantial gain.

Compiling the Divine Farmer's Hundred Herbs Scripture had advanced the integration progress of Jiang Li's Dao Fruit by a great leap, but he was still some distance from perfection.

Although both these aspects were in line with the Derivation Method of Dao Fruit, to be precise, they were not a perfect match. The Divine Farmer's Hundred Herbs Scripture is a book of pharmacology, and the Spring Palace Storybooks are basically Little Prince Uncle's territory, which were entirely unrelated to Li Chunfeng's profession.

Jiang Li needed a work, a work that matched the Dao Fruit, a work that would allow him to break through on the foundation of Li Chunfeng's Dao Fruit.

"If that noble intends to hinder me, sooner or later they'll have to show their face. Senior sister, don't be angry," Jiang Li said with a smile, "Your cultivation should remain the priority. If you don't hurry up, you might fall behind me."

Heading to the Jiang's ancestral land, Gongsun Qingyue's identity was somewhat awkward, so upon hearing that someone was interfering, Gongsun Qingyue planned to leave temporarily and go to Fufeng County to call upon the Divine Travel Grand Protector and the Prefectural Governor to root out that person.

But Jiang Li was not willing to let her go.

Gongsun Qingyue possessed a Seventh Rank Dao Fruit known as "Necromancer," and her Dao Fruit ability, "Occultism," made her learned and proficient in all aspects of Mysticism Five Skills. She even managed to reverse engineer the technique to counterpoint the male pressure point striking methods, causing Jiang Li to fall victim to it by accident.

And her Dao Fruit ability "Mathematics" greatly enhanced Gongsun Qingyue's talent in Echange Skill. Her comprehension of the "one of the escapee" has been immensely beneficial to Jiang Li.

How could Jiang Li possibly let go of such a powerful tool?

"Heh, that's big talk."

Upon hearing Jiang Li's words, Gongsun Qingyue's competitive spirit was indeed sparked as she coldly chuckled and said, "Fall behind you? Don't assume you're the only one with insights."

True Qi burst forth, condensing into transparent plates with ancient patterns emerging upon them. Piece by piece, these plates combined to form a Qi Armor that enveloped Gongsun Qingyue's entire body.

"Hmm?" Jiang Li noticed this and displayed a look of surprise.

It was only because, through the Emperor's Qi Observation Skill, he observed that the Qi Armor was as solid as a whole, with the Qi Mechanism integrated without any flaws.

"Could this be the 'Nourishing Spirit Skill' from the Yin Talisman Seven Skills?" Jiang Li exclaimed in amazement. "I remember Master mentioning that the 'Nourishing Spirit Skill' is a method where spirit and Qi combine, advocating calmness to nourish Qi, and stillness to control movement. I didn't expect it to evolve into such a protective technique."

Just by observing the uniform Qi Mechanism, one could guess that the function matched its form—a genuine turtle shell. Unless one could overpower it with sheer force, it would be extremely difficult to breach this layer of defense.

"My Master said..." Gongsun Qingyue bit her silver teeth in annoyance.

Again, with the Master!

She truly spills everything to the outside world, her bias wholly towards that little disciple.

And, when exactly did you hear Master say this? I wasn't aware.

Gongsun Qingyue added another tally against Tianxuan in her heart, then lifted her swan-like neck and huffed, "How so?"

"Only by trying will we know how."

Jiang Li chuckled lightly, using his finger as a sword, at the tip of which Primordial Qi materialized, transparent as it burst forth like a fierce wind and torrential rain. He struck urgently with his fingertips, casting shadows over the Qi Armor and attempting to refine True Qi with the Innate Qi.

However, the Qi Armor remained immovable as a mountain under the barrage of finger shadows, enduring hundreds of strikes without damage. The Innate Qi sought to refine the Qi Armor, but the Qi within remained unchanging and immobile, solid and integrated, repelling the Innate Qi on the outside, making it impossible to begin the refining process.

"Hmm?"

This time, Jiang Li was genuinely surprised.

His Innate Qi specialized in handling all sorts of flamboyant tricks, even that Devil Cultivator was sent flying back in the day. He hadn't expected it to come up short against this seemingly simple Qi Armor today.

"Let's try again. From the Ghost Wan Collapse, draw the next Divine Sword."

Jiang Li chanted the "Marshal Heaven and Earth Chaos Curse," transforming the Innate Qi into a sinister and damaging Yin Thunder. Dark light surged like serpents, striking in succession, its malevolent aura causing Qi Changsheng to shrink back in fear, dreading an accidental strike from the electric light, while Feng Manlou watched with relish.

The grim dark thunder bombarded the Qi Armor, electricity streaking rapidly, probing for any gap to infiltrate.

But this Qi Armor had no gaps even in its Qi Mechanism to exploit, let alone physical ones.

It was like a heaven-sent rift, lying between Jiang Li and Gongsun Qingyue, preventing any offensive move from reaching her.

Afterwards, Jiang Li experimented with talismanic magic evolving into wind, water, ice, fire, and the "True Intent Technique Python" directly attacking the mind. He tried various methods, yet still found it difficult to break through the Qi Armor.

But he did discern something.

"Da Yan 50, Perfect and Flawless, Timelessly Unchanging, Elder Sister replaces unchanging with immovability, using 'Nourishing Spirit Skill' to evolve the Qi Armor that is hard to alter, indeed capturing a hint of the timeless charm," Jiang Li sighed in admiration. "Truly, it is a marvelous turtle shell."

While he researched "one of the escapees," Gongsun Qingyue was delving into "Da Yan 50."

Of course, she couldn't truly grasp the mysteries of Da Yan, but she could make use of shortcuts, using the notion of immovability and unchangeability to deduce the "Nourishing Spirit Skill," creating this Qi Armor that even the Innate Qi could not refine.

However, shortcuts are still shortcuts, and although the Qi Armor offered strong defense, it fundamentally remained as static as the spirit turtle, requiring Gongsun Qingyue to wield it with a calm Mental State, preventing any slight flaw in the Qi Mechanism from appearing, while remaining motionless. Any minor movement, and the Qi Armor would collapse on its own.

Therefore, it was said to be a turtle shell.