Taiyi Dao Fruit

"However..."

Jiang Li's face gradually assumed an indifferent expression, "If Sect Leader Zhang doesn't choose another battlefield, then it may not be so simple. Your hearts are ruthless, and so is mine."

Without the Void Realm created by the "Jiuli Vast Sky Realm Law," the impact of the aftermath could not be limited. Deprived of their mobility and Power, the vulnerability of the people below was comparable to that of ants. The shockwaves from a fourth-rank exchange could kill a great number of people with just one sweep.

If Jiang Li, Primordial Lord Rain Master, and the enemy were to clash here, the lives of these currently surviving Taiping Sect believers might not be spared in the aftermath.

But if the battlefield were to be changed because of this, the already activated Plague Array would not be movable; the locust god would either have to continue presiding over it and then suffer a 'righteous' siege by the opponent's reinforcements, or it would mean giving up on the Plague Array entirely and letting the locust god withdraw as well.

For the former, the fate of the believers remained unchanged; it would only delay the inevitable a little longer.

As for the latter, that meant abandoning the control center of the Plague Qi. Following that, although the Plague Qi would still permeate, the effect would be nowhere near what it was.

Jiang Li gave the choice to the opponent, letting them decide the future of their believers.

This move appeared to leave room for maneuver, but it didn't leave any room for Sect Leader Zhang and the enemy's higher-ups.

Whichever choice they made, it would be their loss.

Was it to directly lose the Plague Array, or to sacrifice the lives of these soldiers?

Despite Jiang Li's estimation that the Taiping Sect could still summon at least a million cannon fodder, he didn't give them much time to gather their forces; these believers were already considered usable.

"What will you do, Sect Leader Zhang?"

Jiang Li spoke lightly, "I am a kind-hearted person, most disturbed by the sight of bloodshed. Even if it's inevitable, I will do my best to avoid it. I hope Sect Leader Zhang won't waste my goodwill."

Kind-hearted?

"I see only ruthlessness," said Zhang Zhixuan.

"Yellow Heaven once said that you and he tread the same path, understanding the ruthlessness of the Heavenly Dao, treating all beings impartially, without goodness or evil. Otherwise, you couldn't have advanced your 'Yin Talisman Scripture' to such a level in such a short time. I didn't believe him before, but now, I do."

"The only difference between you two is that his ruthlessness is worn on the outside, while yours is concealed within."

The anger was reined in, replaced instead by a sense of exclamation, a look of wonder.

Zhang Zhixuan marveled at how difficult Jiang Li was to deal with, and the terrible similarity he shared with Yellow Heaven.

There were those who were cruel and those who were ruthless enough to slaughter hundreds of thousands of living creatures, but the likes of Jiang Li and Heavenly Monarchs, were rare throughout history.

To scatter all beings without malice, to grace all generations without claiming kindness.

To destroy all without being violent, to bless all generations without considering it love.

Without actually laying a ruthless hand and slaughtering the believers below, Zhang Zhixuan didn't feel that the other was compassionate. Despite claiming his heart could be ruthless, able to disregard the deaths of hundreds of thousands, Zhang Zhixuan didn't sense a trace of violence.

Such a Mental State was even beyond what Zhang Zhixuan felt himself capable of.

If he could possess such a Mental State, combined with the Dao Fruit of the Nine Heavens Thunder Sound General, perhaps he too could reach the ranks of the third-grade strongest.

Therefore, Zhang Zhixuan felt both admiration and awe.

The more he admired, the deeper his dread of Jiang Li became, and the more he felt awed, the more resolute his intent to kill.

The fury was contained, even pressed down, but the killing intent surged extraordinarily, intensely fierce.

"Seeing such a being as you, I find myself inferior, and even feel a sense of palpitation," Zhang Zhixuan's eyelids lifted, and the Thunder Light began to converge in his pupils, casting a purple-cyan hue, "Against an enemy like you, not eliminating you is not enough to put my heart at ease."

Sometimes the situation is just that ridiculous; Zhang Zhixuan actually felt a hint of fear in his heart, even though the opponent was only fourth-rank.

And this hint of fear, in turn, made the killing intent flare up even more, like pouring oil on a fire.

As his words fell, the sky turned dark; rolling Calamity Clouds surged like tides, and lightning bolts roared like dragons. In the sky, an aura of destruction coalesced, and a thunderous streak appeared on Zhang Zhixuan's forehead, oddly similar in shape to Jiang Li's Heavenly Eye.

In the next instant, the thunderous streak transformed into an eye, shooting out a bolt of lightning-like white light.

"Boom!"

Thunder pealed in the sky, trembling in the heart, whether it was Jiang Li or Primordial Lord Rain Master, both felt their divine souls shake violently, as if myriad thunders were rumbling inside their hearts, leaving their six senses in a blank void.

"Yu Step Great Dominating Thunder."

Zhang Zhixuan stepped about beneath the starry mantle, within seven steps, Heavenly Thunder roared and crackled, and beyond seven steps, the colossal Divine Image that enveloped his form grasped the Five Thunders, slapping them down toward Jiang Li who remained within a hundred zhang stature.

Seven bolts of Heavenly Thunder struck Jiang Li's body simultaneously, five fingers capturing the thunder, the palm pressed against the Heavenly Spirit, presently under the Five Thunders Bombarding.

Zhang Zhixuan's move was a killing technique.

The eye at his brow could also be considered one of the Heavenly Eyes, its white light an external manifestation of the Nine Heavens Thunder Sound General's Divine Skill "Reward and Punishment." Where the white light shone, the good received help, the wicked were judged.

Depending on the wicked deeds committed, the severity of the judgment was decided, attacking the heart, destroying the spirit.

Zhang Zhixuan had once, with a glance of this Divine Skill, shattered the Divine Soul of a fourth-rank.

However—

"I have no morality."

Jiang Li abruptly spoke, as the Eight Sceneries burst forth around him.

"Reward and Punishment" split the heart, destroyed the spirit, bombarding the mind with punitive thunder to exterminate the Primordial Spirit. It's a pity that Jiang Li's heart and actions were clear as a mirror, truly a great and good person without a trace of guilt, his Mental State entirely capable of withstanding torture, his Primordial Spirit also able to endure the purging.

The Three-pointed Two-bladed Sword flicked upward, parrying the arm of the Divine Image, All Heaven Divine Sha clashed with the punitive thunder, the Innate Eight Sceneries emerging all at once to confront the seven bolts of thunder.

"Boom boom boom boom—"

Furious thunder annihilated everything in its path, the Six Sceneries of Water, Fire, Wind, Thunder, Mountain, and Marsh were shattered one by one, only the seventh thunder met resistance at Kun Earth's scene, unable to break through.

Zhang Zhixuan's power indeed far surpassed King Shu, who initially could not so easily smash the Innate Eight Sceneries.

As for Zhang Zhixuan, the strength of Jiang Li's Primordial Spirit was awe-inspiring, not at all reminiscent of the fourth-rank. "Reward and Punishment," the Divine Skill of punitive thunder, was not something one could simply be immune to by lacking morality; it also had to withstand the bombardment on the Primordial Spirit.

And even for third-rank strong people, taking one hit would cause damage to the Primordial Spirit.

Yet Jiang Li seemed entirely unaffected, as if completely unharmed.

He didn't know Jiang Li's uniqueness; to Jiang Li, attacking his spirit or body, there was no difference in Qi, with Three Elements Combined, the defense in any aspects was a joint effort of the three.

Amidst the shock in his heart, Zhang Zhixuan's assaults grew even more ruthless, his breath turning to clouds, sweeping suddenly, innumerable bolts of lightning interwoven, seemingly about to form a sea of thunder clouds.

Even in his previous fight with the Mo Sect Master, he only unleashed the Thunder Clouds after a brief exchange. Now, Zhang Zhixuan's opening moves were so ferocious, showing just how fierce his killing intent was.

By this point, whether by emotion, reason, justice or self-interest, Zhang Zhixuan had only one thought: to obliterate Jiang Li, to blast him to smithereens.

The thunderstorm raged, unmatched in intensity, while across from it, the scene of Kun Earth formed instantly, Yin Yang Yoke gathering to form the immense Kun Trigram.

"Earth, Endless Desolation."

The majestic scene unfolded behind Jiang Li, the wide expanse of land demonstrating Thick Earth Carries Things. But in the blink of an eye, endless desolation spoiled the thick virtue of the earth, replaced by wasteland, decay.

Following "Thunder·Heaven and Earth Shattering," another step further in the Eight Sceneries Technique, or rather, a law of destruction.

The Five Vile Qi was combined with other moves by Jiang Li for the first time, his secret killing move, not to be used lightly. Because even Jiang Li himself could not confidently claim to have full control over this technique.

Yet faced with a third-rank strong person like Zhang Zhixuan, his secret killing move was employed right at the start of the fight, without a moment's hesitation.

Any hesitation would be irresponsible towards his own life.

The endless wasteland anomaly manifested in the sky, the breadth of the earth welcoming the destruction of thunder, the two aspects merging.

"Boom!"

The firmament quaked, violent waves surged, countless figures swallowed, ground to blood and water, staining the waves red.

Zhang Zhixuan no longer cared for the lives of his believers, and Jiang Li certainly couldn't afford to show mercy out of misplaced kindness.