Chapter 360: Chapter 81: Dao Fruit Outer Elixir
All the stars surrounded the moon, revealing the vastness of the starry sea.
A figure emerged from the void, clothed in the river of stars, crowned with the essence of Taiyin, transformed into three eyes, four heads, eight arms, then reverted to the appearance of a common man—six chi tall, and with a face identical to Tianxuan’s, standing behind him.
"Third grade?!" Su Nu cried out in disbelief.
The boundless Qi Mechanism, a bizarre spectacle bathed in the starscape, and the overwhelming pressure—all indicated the grade: Third Grade!
The Emperor gazed at the ethereal figure and said heavily, "You simply didn’t have the time to advance!"
He felt that the situation was slipping from his control.
As one of the six strongest individuals in the world today, the Emperor, despite being old and having left Divine Capital, was still a match for any Third Grade outside of those exceptional individuals. He was still standing on Great Zhou’s soil; the national body was the Emperor’s body.
However, his certainty in a killing move was no longer guaranteed.
If the isolation were broken, all the Third Grades around Divine Capital would find out that a major battle was happening here, and the Emperor’s efforts would come to naught.
"Your Majesty seems very well-informed about the Dinghu Sect, even knowing that my palace has not conducted a Promotion Ceremony," Tianxuan’s Qi blended with the shadow behind her, becoming even more unfathomable as she spoke calmly. "However, that’s only been the case in recent years. Who said one must wait until Fourth Grade Perfection to conduct a Promotion Ceremony? And who decreed that one must certainly advance after completing the ceremony?"
As long as the fitting conditions were met, a Promotion Ceremony could be conducted.
It was feasible for someone at Fourth Grade Perfection, and equally for someone who had just been promoted to the fourth rank.
The reason for waiting until Perfection to advance was that the Dao Fruit needed to fully integrate with the cultivator. If one were to accommodate a new Dao Fruit before reaching Perfection, there would be a situation where two Dao Fruits were pressing against each other, possibly leading to rejection and backlash.
Thus, preparing beforehand was a prudent choice.
But ordinary cultivators barely had enough time to fully develop their current Dao Fruit, let alone partake in a higher-level Promotion Ceremony. And the higher the grade of the Dao Fruit, the more difficult the Promotion Ceremony. Even at Dao Fruit Perfection, success was uncertain, let alone before Perfection.
Generally speaking, it was the third-grade cultivators preparing to ascend to the Second Grade who would do this, as they had to guard against obstruction from various ’Sixth Brothers.’ Thus, a Third Grade would start the Promotion Ceremony as soon as they got the right Dao Fruit while continuing their cultivation.
It was unexpected that Tianxuan would waste time and hinder her cultivation to do this at the fourth rank.
It seemed like a fruitless effort, but at this moment, it revealed its extraordinary effectiveness.
As she spoke, the star sea changed the heavens, replacing the gloomy sky dome. Starlight spread in all directions, penetrating the space and making an invisible barrier become visible.
That was the Imperial Decree laid down by the Emperor, the barrier he had set.
And now, starlight was infiltrating the barrier, overlapping with it, simultaneously dissolving the isolation and forming a new barrier of starlight, preventing Su Nu from leaving.
If Su Nu attempted to pursue Jiang Li, then, no matter how capable Jiang Li was, he would likely fail.
To leave, one had to break through the starlight barrier, but breaking it would also damage the Emperor’s isolation. If left untouched, the starlight barrier would continue to penetrate the isolation.
Such tactics did not seem to be from a cultivator who had just advanced to the third grade. She was too proficient with Dao Fruit Divine Power.
No, that wasn’t right!
The Emperor looked at the shadow and Tianxuan, "You haven’t advanced."
Tianxuan was still at fourth-rank, that vast Qi came from the shadow, not from her.
She had not borne the Dao Fruit.
But undoubtedly, her power was of the third grade, and her control over the Power of Stars was effortless.
"Your Majesty has good eye power," Tianxuan praised softly, "I indeed have not advanced. The third grade, though powerful, is under the scrutiny of the whole world, every word and action constrained. It’s better to remain at the fourth rank, thus avoiding the jealousy of others, unrestrained. But I am rather greedy, wishing to be unrestricted and yet also possess Third Grade power, so I took a different approach and developed this technique."
The Dao Fruit existed externally, yet intertwined with her being, similar to how an Outer Elixir is to a cultivator. The difference is that this Dao Fruit as an Outer Elixir could be fused at any moment, becoming a part of herself.
In this way, she could wield the power of the third grade in the state of Fourth Grade Perfection. And because she had not advanced to the third grade, she could not conduct the second-grade Promotion Ceremony. Even if exposed, she would not be targeted by other ’Sixth Brothers.’
Those ’Sixth Brothers’ would target other Third Grades to prevent them from advancing to the Second Grade. Tianxuan lacked the basic conditions to advance, so targeting her would simply be a waste of time.
As she spoke, Dragon Energy emerged from the Emperor’s body, evolving into the form of Nine Dragons, while on the other side, the stars moved, forming various Star Formations, deriving the nuances of Taiwei Xuan Technique.
Though it couldn’t be said she was on equal footing, Tianxuan was not at an absolute disadvantage.
The Emperor was indeed old and still trying to transcend the Emperor Dao Fruit, and Tianxuan had not hastily advanced but had already been utilizing the Divine Skills of the Third Grade Dao Fruit with a specialized Secret Technique, without any unfamiliarity.
"This move is opportunistic, there must be limitations," the Emperor said.
"If Your Majesty believes so, you are welcome to find where the limitation lies."
Stars gathered and split apart, and in an instant, the starry river flowed, Dragon Energy churned, causing a Heavenly Shock and Earthly Movement.
...
...
A fierce wind swept across the wilderness, scattering leaves and kicking up sand and stones in its wake.
But if one were to turn and look back, one could see the green hills standing still, flourishing with vegetation.
That very mountain had been at the very heart of the windstorm, even its origin, yet it remained untouched, its lush greenery bursting with vibrant life.
No one would have thought that just before, this mountain had been on the brink of total collapse, and its trees and grasses had been reduced to ash by an arsonist.
"The Emperor Dao Fruit... truly formidable. I wonder if Master can handle it."
Jiang Li repeatedly ran through the possibilities in his mind, but he couldn’t come to a conclusion.
He was too far from the third grade, and it was almost like looking at the sky from the bottom of a well to judge the strength of the third grade with his sixth-rank abilities. Even if he could reach a conclusion, Jiang Li didn’t feel it would be correct.
At the same time, Jiang Li had to admit that he was worried about Tianxuan.
"It’s all because of that red thread, burdening me with these emotional ties."
Jiang Li sighed softly, "I can only trust in Tianxuan now."
The old demon’s skill level was among the highest Jiang Li had seen in his lifetime. Defeating the Emperor was impossible, but escaping should be assured. Otherwise, as soon as Tianxuan noticed that Su Nu wasn’t carrying the Plain Cloud Realm Flag, he would have taken Jiang Li and fled immediately.
With this in mind, Jiang Li prepared to stand up from his wheelchair, ready to enact a medical miracle.
"Wang!"
Just then, a familiar bark sounded, and a flame-like red glow appeared ahead, a large red dog slightly bent its body, assuming the standard posture of a hunter as it locked its gaze on Jiang Li.
And behind him, a red cloud descended, a glimmer of golden light emerged, Bu Yusheng’s pretty face set with frost, her Qi Mechanism firmly targeting the figure in front.
Jiang Li sat back down.
"Fairy Bu really is persistent. Do you fancy my body that much?"
Jiang Li turned his wheelchair, facing sideways towards both the red dog and Bu Yusheng, and chuckled.
Hearing this, a flash of anger crossed Bu Yusheng’s face, but then she regained her composure. Her cold eyes focused on Jiang Li as she said, "Your silver tongue only reveals your powerlessness. Jiang Li, you cannot escape today."
Previously, to force Su Nu to make a move, Jiang Li had already used a fourth-grade killing move, and now he couldn’t afford to reveal his trump card.
His constant sitting in the wheelchair without standing up showed that he must indeed be obstructed in some way; after all, ambushing a fifth-rank was not without its costs.
And as for his opponent, not only could she still unleash killing moves, but she also had the help of a fifth-rank, and even Su Nu’s martial uncle would be arriving soon.
The advantage was hers; she couldn’t see how she could lose.
Bu Yusheng was obviously unaware of the situation over there; after all, even Jiang Li couldn’t see the isolated scene.
Indeed, she did have the upper hand. The fourth-grade killing move was secondary; the main concern was that dog...
Jiang Li looked at the snarling red dog.
The Emperor had mentioned this dog before, referring to it as "Heavenly Dog," and Tianxuan had conveyed this information to Jiang Li via consciousness.
Jiang Li combined the situation with the records in the Karma Collection and guessed at the dog’s Dao Fruit.
The Heavenly Dog was its Dao Fruit.
This divine canine, by name, was almost the same as the Sky Dog, but they were not the same breed.
The Heavenly Dog didn’t have the ability to eclipse the sun or moon; it was the embodiment of a shooting star, a symbol of military disaster.
The ancient books said: "The fierce Heavenly Dog, as a shooting star it appears; where it passes, cities are destroyed, where it descends, fortresses fall; seven states change, barking past the city of Liang."
When the Heavenly Dog crosses the sky, military disasters follow, unrelated to solar or lunar eclipses.
Because of the similarity in names and their ominous associations, the Heavenly Dog and Sky Dog became confused in the myths. In terms of power, the Heavenly Dog was less than the Sky Dog.
However, the dog before him had the bloodline of a Sky Dog and contained within it the Heavenly Dog Dao Fruit; in the future, it might be possible to combine Heavenly Dog and Sky Dog into one.
"And since the Heavenly Dog is a dog, perhaps... I should let it have a bite and experiment?"
Jiang Li thought about a Dao Fruit Derivation Method he had discovered the other day and weighed the possibility in his mind.