Taiyi Dao Fruit

The Clan Elder's Innate Golden Qi, in terms of quantity, was not beyond Jiang Li, which was evidently controlled.

In quality, though Jiang Li's Realm fell slightly short, his Innate Qi indeed surpassed the Clan Elder in essence. However, against the Innate Golden Qi that had ascended to the metaphysical realm, even if Jiang Li surpassed in essence, he was entirely unable to resist.

Hundreds and thousands of sharp edges stabbed towards him; the fierce and pure Qi Mechanism seemed as if it could erase all vitality in the world, every living creature forced to succumb to its punishment.

This was "Death"!

Jiang Li's eyes suddenly constricted to nearly a point, mystery swirling within as the Eight Trigrams evolved, thoroughly deciphering the trajectory of the golden Qi Soldiers.

Every bit of Qi Mechanism around him suddenly converged, as if he became a gust of wind, a shadow, disappearing from the Clan Elder's perception in an instant.

He used the Emperor's Qi Observation Skill to see through the critical Qi Mechanism, dodging the solid and attacking the empty; to the Clan Elder's eyes, Jiang Li was still present, but his existence had disappeared from the Clan Elder's perception.

Da Yan 50, one of the escapee.

This was indeed the application of the one of the escapee.

"Eh?"

Suddenly losing his target, the Clan Elder let out a surprised sound, and the golden Qi Soldiers, having lost their locked target, fell into disorder under the pull of the Qi Mechanism.

Jiang Li took this opportunity to dart through like a flickering flame in a gust, changing shape at will with the wind; as soon as the wind appeared, the flame would flash, and in an instant, he burst through the rain of soldiers, charging straight towards the Clan Elder.

"Good lad!"

The Clan Elder praised lightly, his eyes widening, his gaze locked tightly onto Jiang Li. Meanwhile, sounds akin to golden spears and iron horses clanging echoed from his body. The Innate Golden Qi rose once again, golden spears and iron horses materializing one by one.

Using Qi to form shapes, he manifested golden spears and iron horses; an array of ethereal cavalrymen and infantry shadows were fabricated out of Innate Golden Qi, seemingly about to transform this place into a vast battlefield.

However, just at that moment, Jiang Li and the Clan Elder locked eyes, a dazzling golden light bursting forth from Jiang Li's eyes.

Within his Eye Acupoints, the talismanic seeds had already turned into Bright Light Talismans, his eyes emitting a strong light directly at the Clan Elder's own. The Clan Elder, who could only capture his target with his sight since he couldn't lock onto Jiang Li with spirits or Qi Mechanisms, was caught off guard and momentarily dazzled by the golden light.

The Golden Spear and Iron Horse were simultaneously disrupted, Jiang Li closed in rapidly, emitting Thunder Light from both palms, an immense might manifesting.

"Tianpeng Tianpeng, Nine Elements Evil Child."

The Thunder Technique was like lightning, the Thunder Light raced, the dazzling electric light shot straight towards the Clan Elder's face.

Yet—

"Hu—"

Closing his eyes, the Clan Elder exhaled a burst of Golden Wind, the temperature around them dropped sharply, as if transitioning from summer to autumn in an instant.

The electric light, bright like dragons and snakes, collided with the Golden Wind and dissipated one after another. The shocking thunder and lightning were easily erased; even the golden light shooting from Jiang Li's eyes disappeared in the Golden Wind, leaving only countless specks of light drifting with the breeze.

Jiang Li immediately ceased his attack, ready to invoke that imperturbable turtle shell, but no sooner had a trace of the True Qi Armor emerged, it was scattered by the Golden Wind and dissipated with it.

In the blink of an eye, it all dissipated easily; the Golden Wind brushed past Jiang Li's face, carrying a piercing chill, yet not harming Jiang Li in the slightest.

The Clan Elder slowly opened his eyes, smiling and said, "The Jiang's Divine Skill is in no way inferior to the Yellow Emperor inheritance."

Golden Qi Killing Transformation, entering the path through Qi under the Innate Golden Qi, nothing is indestructible.

"Strong," Jiang Li agreed readily.

The old man had gone to great lengths just to let Jiang Li know the might of Jiang's Divine Skill; how could Jiang Li not cooperate?

If he didn't cooperate, how would he learn the "Qi Tomb"?

'This boy truly exceeded my expectations, managing to nearly turn the tables even when at a disadvantage and forcing me to use my true strength.'

The Clan Elder actually broke out in a cold sweat inwardly, and now he secretly let out a sigh of relief. However, on the surface, he remained as composed as a breeze passing through clouds.

Opening his mouth and inhaling, the Innate Golden Qi flowed back into the body of the Clan Elder, the Qi Mechanism concealed, his robust frame once again became gaunt and aged, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed from the prime of his life to an old man.

"This is merely Golden Qi," the Clan Elder, with his hands clasped, slowly said, "Back in the day, the Family Head, with the Eight Qi Interactions, commanded the Divine Farmer's Cauldron, truly as if changing heaven and earth into a furnace, incinerating everything as kindling wood, even the Golden Crow, heralded as the essence of the sun, nearly met its demise in refining."

"Divine Power of the Family Head." Jiang Li remained cooperative, but what he truly thought, only he himself knew.

The Family Head mentioned by the Clan Elder was probably the one who suddenly died in the Imperial City.

To die suddenly and silently in the Imperial City makes it hard to say whether the Clan Elder's words had any bias.

Although the Clan Elder was dissatisfied with the family's relocation, he still seemed to hold reverence for the deceased Family Head.

The Clan Elder also seemed aware of Jiang Li's thoughts and sighed lightly, "I know what you're thinking; you must also be wondering, if the Family Head was so powerful, why then did he die so suddenly. Let me tell you, it's because the Emperor of Zhou was strong, strong enough to stand undefeated within the territory of Great Zhou and near invincible within the Imperial City."

"Did the Family Head really die at the hands of the Emperor of Zhou?" Jiang Li asked in surprise.

Although that's what everyone says, the truth of the matter, aside from the Emperor of Zhou, perhaps no one else knows.

In any case, that day, the Jiang family's Family Head suddenly died in the Imperial City, and the Emperor of Zhou also fell ill, so this was everyone's guess.

"I do not know the true details, but the only one who could have killed the Family Head in the Imperial City, should be the Emperor of Zhou alone."

The Clan Elder nodded and then shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding stone seats, "You must have noticed, just now, those unworthy fellows, the most of whom are containers of the Earth God Dao Fruit. They were originally officials of Great Zhou, but fearing reprisal from the Royal Family, they resigned from their positions and left their Divine Domains, losing their foundations, with realms but without power."

"The Divine Domain is the foundation of an Earth Deity, its importance surpassing even that of a cultivator's Qi Sea. Without a Qi Sea there is still Divine Essence, but without a Divine Domain, an Earth Deity's Divine Essence will slowly weaken. Essentially, they are merely containers for the Dao Fruit, and if they were true Earth Deities, they wouldn't even be able to leave their Divine Domain."

"However, when officials of Great Zhou are promoted or transferred, they are able to switch their Divine Domains, do you know why?"

"Because their Dao Fruits were promoted?" Jiang Li guessed.

From the Stove God to the Mountain God or River God, the foundation changes with each promotion of the Dao Fruit. As a cultivator is a container of the Earth God Dao Fruit, rather than a true Earth Deity, theoretically, they could switch Divine Domains when they have the opportunity of promotion.

"That's the official explanation," the Clan Elder said with a chuckle, "but actually... Look at this Emperor of Zhou and Great Zhou, don't they resemble an Earth Deity with its Divine Domain?"

"The entire Great Zhou is the Emperor of Zhou's Divine Domain? The Emperor is an Earth Deity?" Jiang Li's expression finally changed.

According to this explanation, it all makes sense.

Great Zhou belongs to the Emperor, naturally distributed at his whim. The officials are in essence mere accessories of the Emperor, essentially managing the Divine Domains on behalf of the Emperor, and their foundations remain the same wherever they govern.

If the Emperor is an Earth Deity, then within his stronghold at the core—the Imperial City—it is conceivable that he can call upon the strongest suppression against an enemy. Even a third-rank strong person facing the Emperor would likely meet death, truly making the former Family Head die without sound or struggle.

However, if that were the case, what about the lifespan limit of the Emperor?

Cultivators on the Divine Path are famously long-lived, and even if the Emperor relied purely on accumulation of power through the Dao Fruit without cultivation, with his nature as a third-grade strong person, living a few hundred years would be no issue. Yet history shows that Emperors rarely live to a hundred, their life spans no different from ordinary people.