Taiyi Dao Fruit

No matter how formidable someone might have been, he still rose to power by living off a woman. Gongsun Qingyue was the vital link connecting Jiang Li and the Gongsun Family, absolutely indispensable.

As for the possibility that this was Jiang Li strategizing, attempting to use Gongsun Qingyue as bait to lure out his own people...

The same saying applied—the advantage was mine.

If one didn't dare to make a move while having the upper hand, then there was no point in starting a rebellion, might as well disband.

Once these words were spoken, everyone was certain they would take action. However, the locust god moved even faster than they did here.

Almost immediately after the sound of the Kui Drum, the blood-colored locust tide surged towards an area twenty miles away. The area covered by the blood tide was tens of miles wide, with even more locusts gathering from all directions. Its momentum was so immense that even the zither playing sound technique and the fire of the Bi Fang Demon God couldn't intercept it.

The phoenix bird and the intense flames cleared a void, with heaps of insect corpses falling from the sky, but still a dense blood tide surged wildly, approaching the source of the drum sound in no time.

It was a towering mountain peak, with the ancient and simple big drum floating at the summit. A woman in red held a big hammer, striking the Kui Drum and producing thunderous sounds.

As the blood-colored tide neared, it changed shape, countless locusts amassing into a giant blood-colored hand, reaching for the top of the mountain with a surge of plague Qi.

Under the pull of the Qi mechanism, a majestic Primordial Qi appeared in front of the mountain as well, forming into raging flames and likewise shaping into a huge palm to meet it.

"Boom!"

The palms collided, the Qi of plague surged, intertwining into a bewildering, chaotic, bizarre aspect. Beneath the blood-colored halo, the six consciousnesses became inverted, flesh tore apart. All manner of plagues of the human world evolved within it, yet the flaming giant palm remained unaffected.

The Innate Fire Qi burned all things to grow. Countless insect corpses turned into charred ashes and fell, the Qi of plague turning into kindling, ignited by the Fire Qi, fueling the flames.

Under the clash of palm forces, the blood-colored hand suddenly collapsed, the blood tide scattered, accumulating a blood cloud that filled ten miles of space.

Dense locusts danced and whirled, bearing upon the blood cloud a silhouette. Garbed in a bright yellow robe with dragon patterns, an upright figure with a face covered by a Black metal mask braided with blood patterns; it was both eerie and majestic, eerily fascinating.

And on the other side, the fire palm transformed into a round of Sword Light, churning with a Flame Flow, scorching flames into a fiery domain. A figure shone with light from the heart of the ring—Jiang Li stepped out from within.

"Should I call you locust god, or King Yue, Ji Wen?"

Jiang Li's gaze swept over the male figure where eerie and majestic intertwined, he asked indifferently.

In response, the locust god merely emitted a light laugh before instantly initiating an attack.

This one cared little for pomp and grandeur, acting decisively when it came to combat, not spending any time on verbal confrontation. He began with a hand seal, a mass of locusts stretching out long insect shadows, transforming into countless talisman-like lines, carrying plague Qi and diseases, forming a gloomy and eerie river of blood.

The mere perception of this strange move gave one a sense of bewilderment and confusion, spirits bewitched, with a normal person unable to react in time, consciousness would first scramble into madness.

Without a doubt, this was the "Nine Insect Technique," and compared to the "Nine Insect Technique" performed by the Fourth Prince, it was tenfold, no, a hundredfold more profound.

The locust god was indeed King Yue, Ji Wen.

The Dao Fruit of the master of the Heavenly Court's Plague Department resided within him, and through the suffering of the people in Liangzhou Province, this Dao Fruit had presumably reached Perfection. The Dao Fruit of the Plague God had little chance to advance in times of peace, but in times of war, it was the complete opposite—Liangzhou's hardships were the steps for its advancement.

Seeing the locust god act decisively, Jiang Li's gaze sharpened, Sword Light born, fiery flames arose.

The attack was still primarily based on Innate Fire Qi, for fire was the nemesis of plagues. As the Sword Light sparked, initially only a wisp, it spread in an instant with a wildfire's ferocity, boundless Sword Light displaying transformations. Sword Qi intersected far and wide, as vigorous as a fire, blending with the Fire Qi's purpose, to burn all things for growth.

Firelight, Sword Light, Sword Qi, sword fire blazed into existence, shredding the myriad insect shadows, incinerating numerous minute talismans. Jiang Li then drew his hand forward, the conflagrating Sword Light converging into one, shooting forth.

The extreme heat pierced through the sky, even space seemed about to be cauterized, a speck of darkness appeared at the tip of the Sword Light, aiming directly for the locust god's silhouette.

The blood tide surged violently as countless locusts continued to throw themselves at the Sword Light, evaporating into streams of blood Qi. A single sword traveled through the air, thunderously piercing through the blood tide, with a loud "boom," the blood waves crashed like raging seas, tossing up countless blood blossoms. Numerous talismans engulfed the locust god.

At the same time, a storm arrived with thousands of raining droplets forming a sharp sword shape, the sword rain drifting down, covering the sky and enveloping everything that came its way.

Jiang Li looked up, his eyes reflecting the trajectory of the sword rain, sword shadows bloomed in front of him like a peacock spreading its feathers, layer upon layer. The sword rain striking them made a continuous metallic sound.

Thirty-six thousand swords!

The sword rain amounted to thirty-six thousand swords, its sword intent so sharp that among the sword cultivators Jiang Li had seen, only Daoist Guang Cheng and Manjusri surpassed it.

The drifting sword rain ceased in an instant, and Jiang Li stood steadfast behind layers of sword light, his focused gaze never wavering from the sky. In his eyes, the last drop of rain lazily descended, streaking diagonally across the firmament to strike the layers of sword light.

Crack!

Like the shattering of a glass, the layers of sword light broke before this one drop of water. It was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, also the sharpest sword move, breaking through the sword light, with all the thousand strands of sword momentum converging at this single point.

Primordial Lord Rain Master appeared behind the raindrop as if teleporting, her two eyes met Jiang Li's, an unspoken understanding between them.

She still couldn't reveal her identity.

Previously, when Jiang Li had not shown himself, the Master of Rain took action against Mother of Lightning. Now that Jiang Li had laid his trap, the blade could be buried deeper, piercing more sharply.

The gods of the Taiping Sect were not the key; Zhang Zhixuan was.

So, Jiang Li retreated.

He moved back as numerous strands of sword light shot out like silkworms spinning silk, entwining at this point of rainwater, wrapping it up as if forming a cocoon. And Jiang Li suddenly stepped back, pointing out with a sword finger.

Separated by sword silks and rainwater, Primordial Lord Rain Master also pointed with a sword finger.

Sword Qi devastated; tip to tip, the sword silks and rainwater were condensed to a point by the sword fingers from both sides, where the breaking force of the sword Qi collided in a tiny speck.

"Crack—"

Cracks spread outward from the suddenly appearing black point at the center, Jiang Li and Primordial Lord Rain Master's figures both shook as their Qi mechanisms fluctuated.

The edge that could split the universe was about to erupt, a dazzling light emerging from the black point, but just as it was about to explode, clouds and mist surged from all directions, Marquis of Wind, Thunder God, and Mother of Lightning appeared at the same time, their Qi mechanisms connected with the Master of Rain, and suddenly the heavens and earth were vast and hazy, the white mist filled Heaven and Earth.

Jiuli Vast Sky Realm Law!

Turning heaven and earth into a domain, manipulating space, severing the universe.

Before the End of Dharma, Jiuli Vast Sky Realm Law could forcibly occupy Heaven and Earth, cutting off the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, drawing the ground into a prison. After the End of Dharma, without Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, practitioners thought to replace it with Soldier Evil Qi to create a suitable environment.

And the Jiuli Vast Sky Realm Law continued to perform as usual, cutting off the Soldier Evil, which was a weapon against military formations. Against individuals, the effect was even better.

This time, the Four Gods were even more adept at employing the Jiuli Vast Sky Realm Law compared to the last, with clouds and mist rolling and all forces of the universe being extracted, including gravity, geomagnetism, wind force, etc. Jiang Li felt as if he was falling into the void, surrounded by places he could not exert force, cut off from the heaven and earth, isolated in the universe.

The Four Gods operated their powers simultaneously, the strength of the four converging inward, splitting the space into cubes, with the cube where Jiang Li was located twisting inward, gradually shrinking.

They wanted to seal Jiang Li!

They used the power of the four to implement the forbidden technique from "Chi You Three Disks Scripture," turning space into a mustard seed, the condensed force distorting Jiang Li's figure, changing, as he was being compressed without any resistance, and then—

Jiang Li transformed into a sword.

—The Great Circle Sword!

"How is this possible?!"

It was fake again.