Chapter 363: Chapter 84: Red Line Exposed
The fluctuations of the Qi Mechanism formed a tide, and the sky resembled a vast ocean, where Divine Senses piercing through the sky were like fishes swimming through the surging waves.
They attempted to find the parties involved in the conflict.
However, above that forest, the Emperor’s figure had already vanished without a trace, along with two individuals from the Southern Heavenly Department, while Su Nu went off in search of Bu Yusheng.
Even the devastation caused by the aftermath of the battle had disappeared, everything returned to as it was before.
But the Third Grade Qi Mechanism could not be faked, and the Star Sea anomaly that had suddenly appeared was also perceived.
There indeed had been a confrontation here, involving Third Grade Powers, and among the participants, some dealt with the Star Dao······
At the same time this was realized, a rainbow-like fierce blood raced through the sky from the direction of Divine Capital. Elder Kaixiang arrived with the vitality of a scorching sun, his overwhelming presence forcefully pushing aside the waves of Divine Senses.
"Get lost!"
With an almost overbearing attitude, Elder Kaixiang released his masculine vitality, forcibly driving away many Divine Senses.
In that instant, everyone had partially figured out the situation.
Involving Third Grade, even a Fourth-Grade Expert wouldn’t dare act rashly, choosing only to investigate with their Divine Sense. Yet, Dinghu Sect’s Elder Kaixiang personally came, which undoubtedly told others that the Star Sea anomaly stemmed from Elder Tianxuan of Dinghu Sect.
The question arose, who had attacked Elder Tianxuan?
Is Elder Tianxuan now alive or dead?
The waters behind this battle were deep.
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Harnessing the power of the Heavenly Stars, traveling a thousand miles by morphing form.
The starlight carried Jiang Li across vast skies, over thousands of mountains, and ultimately landed on an unnamed high mountain.
As the starlight dissipated, it revealed Jiang Li sitting in a wheelchair, and Tianxuan holding a small red dog.
"The Immortal Queen, that woman is intent on dealing with me, so I took her means to prevent any future troubles. Hmph!"
Tianxuan spoke with a smile, but after a few words, she let out a light grunt, pressing her hand to her chest.
"Master."
Jiang Li quickly stood up, reaching out to help her, but Tianxuan did not stop him.
She seemed to be gravely injured, and as Jiang Li’s hands moved behind her, supporting her arms through her dress, he distinctly felt the smoothness like mutton-fat jade and a sense of fragile softness.
He helped Tianxuan back into her wheelchair.
"It’s just a minor injury, don’t worry."
Tianxuan gently shook her head, signaling Jiang Li not to worry; She casually created a chain of starlight to tightly bind the restless little dog and threw it onto the ground beside her.
The little dog continued to struggle fiercely, but the more it struggled, the tighter the starlight chain bound it. Even when it burst forth with red Disaster Qi, it could do nothing.
Eventually, the little dog’s body was stretched out straight as a rod, lying on the ground.
"Even as an Emperor, I still need to pay a price to escape while wielding the power of Third Grade," Tianxuan said softly, touching her chest, "And, I ultimately took some shortcuts."
Faint starlight emanated from behind Tianxuan, passing through the wheelchair and manifesting behind her an illusory figure adorned with a Star Sea cloak and a Taiyin crown.
Streams of nebulous Qi circulated between Tianxuan and the illusory figure.
Wanting to rise to Third Grade without actually doing so, yet desiring the power of Third Grade is like wanting goods without paying; there must be some cost.
Jiang Li could not discern anything else but observed the burden imposed on the body from bearing this power. A Fourth Grade body wielding the power of Third Grade, like under-equipped hardware forced to run overloaded software; it might handle it for a while, but over time, there would likely be impacts.
"If the restrictions are so severe, Master, you might as well just promote yourself," Jiang Li suggested.
He hadn’t expected the old demon to hide so deeply that she could have ascended to Third Grade long before but had indefinitely delayed. Because of this, she caught the Emperor off guard.
What seemed to be a perfectly secure ambush, unexpectedly met an opponent at this same level. Although not at the very forefront, it still wasn’t easy to deal with.
"It’s not time yet."
Tianxuan shook her head, her words heavy with meaning, "It’s not time yet for your teacher to ascend."
As she spoke, silver-white moonlight emerged around her, starting to replace the starlight, nurturing her body with Taiyin Energy.
However, an anomaly suddenly occurred.
It seemed as if an imposing voice descended from the heavens, issuing an immutable imperial decree.
"The stars and moon shall not separate."
Starlight and moonlight mingled, the illusory figure behind slightly wavered, seemingly moving to enter Tianxuan’s body, the starlight connecting them became more dazzling and thickened.
"Oral Heavenly Constitution..."
Elder Tianxuan’s eyebrows slightly furrowed, "Its effect has yet to dissipate."
The reason she was injured, besides being slightly outmatched, was also because of the Emperor.
The Emperor had discerned the connection between Elder Tianxuan and the Third Grade Dao Fruit, and using his own "Oral Heavenly Constitution" Divine Skill, he forced the Dao Fruit to merge with her, causing Star Power to enter her body and pushing her towards promotion.
At that moment, during the peak of battle, if Elder Tianxuan were to be promoted, the Emperor would certainly seize the opportunity. Thus, she chose to resist and paid a certain price to break away and retreat.
Now that Elder Tianxuan had escaped the perilous situation, promotion wouldn’t be a problem, as there was no need to worry about powerful foes disturbing her.
Yet, it seemed she didn’t want to be promoted.
"Taiyin Ju Zi, Water Clearing Gui E."
Elder Tianxuan chanted the True Words, and the bright moon rose behind her, blocking the light from the array of stars that tried to permeate her body.
Both the starlight and moonlight converged on her before repelling each other. The vast aura clashed, causing her three thousand strands of hair to flutter and her veil to wave, revealing her lips pursed in determination.
Elder Tianxuan had long reached the Perfection of Fourth Grade and had even completed the Dao Fruit Promotion Ceremony. She had established a connection with the Third Grade Dao Fruit and was just one step away from directly being promoted to Third Grade. Yet, she continuously delayed her promotion at the very threshold.
She could have drawn the power from the Dao Fruit and used the Dao Fruit Divine Skills but remained reluctant to be promoted.
Even now, she still wanted to stay at Fourth Grade.
However, Elder Tianxuan was currently injured, and with the Emperor’s Divine Skill acting like a catalyst, this made it difficult for her to resist the approach of the Dao Fruit. The starlight began to suppress the moonlight and merged with it.
Jiang Li, upon seeing this, immediately kneeled on one knee on his wheelchair, placing one hand on the ivory-like palm on the handle, infusing her with Innate Qi.
The Innate Qi was supremely pure and could merge with Ten Thousand Qi, transforming it. Almost at the moment it entered her body, it fused with the moonlight, boosting its force. All the Innate Qi in his eight Qi Seas, aside from the one accommodating the Demon Cleansing True Qi, rushed into Elder Tianxuan’s body, transforming into Taiyin Energy, opposing the starlight.
The Taiyin Energy surged immediately, and the bright moon suddenly shone brilliantly, contending equally with the starlight.
But the cost...
was Jiang Li’s face turning deathly pale at a rapid pace, his forehead breaking into sweat instantly, resembling a middle-aged man distressed by inability to pay his taxes.
Being only Sixth Rank, even though he had opened the Divine Farmer Nine Springs, making his power nine times that of others in his Realm, he found it hard to compare with someone of the Fourth Rank. Jiang Li’s power could only surge the moonlight for a moment, and after three moments, the moonlight once again showed signs of being suppressed.
Jiang Li swayed, his face as pale as a corpse. In just that short time, he felt as if he had been drained dry, his legs almost giving out.
"It’s no use —"
He gasped for air, about to withdraw his hand.
His True Qi was almost depleted; even using the "Five Qi Chaoyuan" Dao Fruit Ability to refine Essence into Qi couldn’t restore it, instead causing his blood vitality to fall short.
If this continued, Jiang Li feared he truly would be drained dry.
Faced with a life-and-death crisis, Jiang Li had to admit he was somewhat lacking in endurance and wanted to take some Elixir first to replenish his energy before continuing.
His palm lifted, and the draining sensation of losing power immediately decreased.
But before he could catch his breath, Elder Tianxuan unexpectedly raised her hand and grasped his.
Palms aligned, palm to palm, a gentle yet immense Yin Energy surged into Jiang Li’s body.
Streams of Qi Veins intertwined around the two, forming a massive Array Plate, with the two of them at the core of the Yin Yang Tai Chi.
As the Array Plate operated, the Tai Chi transformed Yin and Yang. The Yin Energy entered his body, and Yang emerged. Jiang Li felt a heat surge through him, and streaks of red patterns appeared on his body.
His skin was nearly transparent, like crystal, yet did not appear grotesque. The flesh beneath his skin also showed the same translucence, displaying the vivid blue veins and the blood flowing in them like fierce blood.
Jiang Li, being a Fire Element by fate, undeniably occupied the Yang extremity.
Elder Tianxuan, on the other hand, held a Taiyin Dao Fruit and was predominately of a Yin nature, becoming even more so after harboring the Taiyin Dao Fruit, suitably occupying the Yin extremity.
The two, one Yin and one Yang, recycled repeatedly. The Yin Energy transformed into Yang Energy, then nourished Elder Tianxuan’s body, the Yang fostering Yin and boosting the Taiyin Moonlight.
Repeatedly, the Taiyin Moonlight gradually stabilized its footing, preventing further penetration of the starlight into her body.
Time silently passed in this cyclic operation. The sun dipped low, night fell, and their figures gradually darkened until the sun rose once again.
Jiang Li and Elder Tianxuan stood quietly like two stone statues, until the sun set for the third time and the moonlight covered them with a silver-white veil for the third time, bringing an end to this battle of attrition.
The starlight was pushed back into the shadow behind, and with faint fluctuations, the shadow transformed into a star shimmering with purple light, and flew into the bright moon.
Elder Tianxuan opened her eyes for the first time in three days, her pupils filled with countless stars, as profound and vast as the depths of space.
Every particular of reality and illusion was vividly discernible within her eyes, her gaze penetrating the mysteries of the universe.
Elder Tianxuan slightly bowed her head, her gaze falling upon Jiang Li. Her profound eyes softened for a moment, but her eyebrows quietly furrowed.
She suppressed the Dao Fruit, deepening her control over this Third Grade Dao Fruit. At that moment, as the Dao Fruit blended with the moon phases, Elder Tianxuan seemed to truly advance to Third Grade, her vision and perception making a breakthrough in a short time, and the Taiyin Dao Fruit also further sublimated.
Then, she saw...
a red thread connecting her and Jiang Li.