Taiyi Dao Fruit

Around the altar.

Zhang Daoyi's words startled the others, for this young Daoist seemed to be a disciple of the Daoist Lord.

The Hui Lun from Buddha Country was quite concerned about the Daode Sect, and was about to probe him when suddenly, the White Dragon circling him let out a low chant, causing him to abruptly turn his head.

A ghostly figure had appeared at the side of Hui Lun, unnoticed.

He stood quietly on the right, hands behind his back, watching the White Dragon with an elusive and profound demeanor.

His heroic face, carved like jade and seemingly emitting a faint luminescence, had gray at his temples, adding an incongruent touch of vicissitudes that enhanced his indescribable, bizarre charm.

Yet upon closer scrutiny, it felt like looking at flowers through fog, indistinct; the figure before one seemed both present and absent, clearly reflected in the eyes one moment and seemingly erased by some Invisible Power the next.

Compared to the grand entrance of the four from the Daode Sect and Hui Lun, Jiang Li's arrival was utterly silent, but when he did appear, everyone was visibly startled.

"Dinghu Sect's Jiang Li, at your service."

Jiang Li spoke with a light smile, the otherworldly, mysterious charm dissipating, replaced by an affable aura, as welcoming as an oncoming breeze, as warm as the spring sun, and as subtly nourishing as the spring rain.

The wind seemed to echo Jiang Li, making each of his movements radiate a natural grace, as if enhancing his appearance in reality as one could in a beauty filter app, changing however he wished.

"Jiang's Unity with Heaven and Man has become even more eerie," thought Zhang Daoyi.

He could only describe it as eerie; for someone from the Heart Realm Sect like Zhang Daoyi, someone from the Physics School like Jiang Li was inexplicably strange. It seemed to be Unity of Heaven and Man, yet not quite; it felt like there were no other words but Unity of Heaven and Man that could describe this state.

"Can you represent the Dinghu Sect?"

Ji Chengye, next to Zhong Shenxiu, suddenly spoke with a sneer, "The current head disciple of the Dinghu Sect is Yun Jiuye, and the chief disciple under Elder Tianxuan is Gongsun Qingyue. As the second disciple under Elder Tianxuan, you can't even represent Elder Tianxuan, let alone the whole Dinghu Sect."

Hearing this, Jiang Li lightly responded with a smile, "My power is my qualification. If you doubt my standing, you are welcome to test my strength."

A test means death; if Ji Chengye dared to engage Jiang Li, he would force Ji Chengye's life-preserving tricks out.

Jiang Li, who had come to participate in the Praying for Rain and was a disciple of the Dinghu Sect, Zhong Shenxiu would certainly not allow him to be harmed; she would surely reveal her trump cards to block Ji Chengye's moves. If not, Jiang Li could still save himself, ensuring his safety either way.

But Ji Chengye would not be so fortunate.

Images of the Eight Trigrams appeared in Jiang Li's eyes, and he had already discerned that Ji Chengye's Qi Mechanism and Divine Essence were slowly draining.

Judging others by oneself, Jiang Li guessed based on his own loss of Divine Essence that Ji Chengye had only one trump card left. Once that was depleted, killing him would become much easier.

No one would have suspected that Jiang Li would be so bold as already to be plotting murder, not even Ji Chengye himself.

Unfortunately, Ji Chengye did not fall for it.

"Jiang Li, having already used up all the life-saving means gifted by your master, yet you still dare to be so arrogant, aren't you afraid of meeting a violent end one day?" Ji Chengye said with a cold laugh.

This was his true intention: he wanted to openly spread the news so that everyone would know Jiang Li had no backup left.

Not only was Jiang Li thinking of eliminating Ji Chengye, but Ji Chengye was also harboring the intent to kick him when he was down.

'Truly, man plans to slay the tiger, and the tiger harbors thoughts of harm.'

Jiang Li thought thus and decided to make one more effort.

He sighed lightly and said, "I once heard a saying that men are creatures who can least withstand provocation. Now it seems this saying really is an exaggeration, or should I say..."

His gaze circled around Ji Chengye's lower body, "Are you not a man?"

Ji Chengye grabbed the armrest of the Taishi Chair, where his palm covered, silent cracks appeared on the solid wood handle.

But he endured it.

The son of a noble should not slump even in his seat. Although Ji Chengye was unaware that Jiang Li had resolved to kill him, he still chose the safest approach.

"Indeed, not a man," Jiang Li said.

The solid wood handle had already begun to splinter, and Jiang Li noticed that Ji Chengye's True Qi fluctuations intensified, clearly furious to the extreme.

But he still endured it.

This Heir of King Lu truly could endure, even in extreme anger, he still did not lose his reason.

"Enough."

Zhong Shenxiu spoke indifferently, "This rain prayer does not involve any sect, anyone with the ability can participate, Jiang Li indeed possesses such ability, and thus he may participate in the rain prayer. Everyone, please take your seats."

With these words, he set the tone for the matter, making it impossible for Ji Chengye to continue his questioning and inappropriate for Jiang Li to continue his provocation.

The crowd sat down on either side, four people from the Daode Sect on the left of Zhong Shenxiu and others, while Jiang Li and Hui Lun took seats on the right.

At this moment, the Taiping Sect had still not appeared, seeing this, Zhong Shenxiu did not prolong matters and directly said, "Whether it is for fame or for profit, I, Zhong Shenxiu, do not care, as long as the rain prayer is successful and does not worsen the drought, all the trivial details, I do not mind, nor will the court."

"But if anyone dares act with a rebellious heart and creates disharmony, I, Zhong Shenxiu, will strike it down."

As he spoke, Zhong Shenxiu's eyes were like bright mirrors, his voice clear yet sharp, like a heavenly blade hanging in midair, ready to strike at any disharmony.

First, striking against the Taiping Sect, making them lose the Rain Master Token, then letting the rain prayer proceed as usual, inviting those capable of stirring the winds and rain.

It was clear that the court's people could conduct the rain prayer themselves, yet they still asked others, clearly many had answered the call, yet most were turned down, all for now.

Inviting people from the Daode Sect, Buddha Country, and Dinghu Sect, to talk face-to-face, ascertain their positions, those not intending chaos would be befriended, those intending to cause trouble would be dealt with swiftly, cutting straight to the heart of the problem.

If this were to succeed, the situation would stabilize a great deal.

Zhong Shenxiu seemed obsessed with cultivation, but in the way of Confucianism, he had gained profound insight, easily finding a solution. Moreover, Confucianism values cultivating the mind and governing the world, if Zhong Shenxiu could stabilize the situation and calm the chaos, whether in terms of cultivation or the interpretation of Dao Fruit, he would ascend a level.

Jiang Li pondered in his heart, 'The premise is that he can truly as he said, meet disharmony and shatter it.'

His gaze swept left and right, taking everyone into his sight.

[Among those present are Zhang Daoyi, Yuan Zhen, these high disciples of the Mystic Sect, as well as Hui Lun, this descendant of Buddha Country, and also Ji Chengye and myself, these kinds of sneaky characters, for Zhong Shenxiu to stabilize the entire situation, difficult!]

[Wait! Since when am I in the same category as Ji Chengye, becoming a sneaky character?]

Jiang Li, staring at the words appearing on the Karma Collection, was startled to find that he indeed had some self-awareness, possessing a clear understanding of his own status.

But is this something to be written down?