Chapter 315: Chapter 38: The Donkey of Guizhou Runs Out of Tricks
What did the ginseng fruit taste like?
Jiang Li had no particular sensation.
It melted as soon as it touched his tongue, instantly flowing into his body without giving him the chance to savor it, and then it was gone.
The effect, however, Jiang Li experienced fully.
He felt as if his body had been hollowed out then refilled. Beneath his garments, his crystal-clear abdomen explicitly showed his internal organs. He saw an unending effusion of turbid Five Elements Qi from his organs, expelling all foulness, and what replaced it was a pure redness of blood.
Jiang Li recalled the ginseng fruit’s fear of the Five Elements and figured that this transformation must be related to that trait.
The ginseng fruit, when encountering the Five Elements externally, would fall before metal, wither before wood, dissolve in water, burn in fire, and blend with earth. Internally, however, the process was reversed; the acquired Five Elements Qi was expelled from the body by the ginseng fruit, returning the body to its origin, free from the contaminated Qi acquired after birth.
His internal organs and limbs felt like they had undergone a rebirth; all turbid Qi was completely expelled and every part of his physique became pure and flawless. Looking within, every bit of his flesh seemed to glow, even his lifespan...
His lifespan didn’t seem to have increased by much, just a few hundred years.
Compared to the forty-seven thousand years of lifespan purportedly gained from eating the ginseng fruit according to the records, the discrepancy was enormous.
While Jiang Li wanted to continue experiencing the effects of the ginseng fruit, the Fourth Prince had already made his move.
A vicious aura rushed towards him like a fierce flood dragon, while countless rune worms wriggled through the gaps between leaves, making one’s skin crawl. Also, invisible malevolent thoughts stirred one’s mind, inciting myriad distracting thoughts and causing the Three Corpses within to go berserk.
"Runes? To think that the ’Form Tomb’ had been cultivated to such an extent."
Tianxuan’s voice of surprise echoed by his ear as countless rune worms passed through Jiang Li’s body.
Another reflection!
In this perilous domain, Jiang Li never forgot to conceal his true form, maintaining a certain distance between his real body and the one seen by others.
With his constant concealment of his presence, even those of the fifth rank would find it hard to perceive him, as had been the case previously with Ji Jiji’s misfortune.
Suppressing the distractions in his heart, he floated up like a willow seed, darting quickly like a startled swan. Jiang Li’s figure flickered in and out of visibility, moving fast then slow–now here, now there. Utilizing one of the escapee techniques, he weaved through creating a series of afterimages. As the rune worms struck at his illusions, he shot through the openings between the large banana-like leaves.
When comparing strengths, Jiang Li admitted he was not a match for the likes of the Fifth-Rank Fourth Prince, barely even Zuo Zhao, who could only contend by drawing upon the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth. With such a gap, naturally, Jiang Li wouldn’t choose to confront him but rather to temporarily avoid the sharp edge.
The rune worms collided and coalesced into a shadow. The Fourth Prince landed on a tree branch not far away, a wisp of black Qi faintly swirling around his brow.
At the same time, Bu Yusheng also leaped into the tree, wielding golden energy, plucked a ginseng fruit and, wrapping it in silk, slipped it into her waist, making it disappear.
Her jade belt must be her storage magic tool.
Elsewhere, a green Sword Light streaked past, and Li Qinglian quietly appeared on a tree branch. Using Geng Metal Sword Qi, she harvested the ginseng fruit and, also using silk, wrapped and collected it.
Jiang Li moved swiftly through the trees, noting the actions of these two with alertness.
Seeing their methods, they must have known ahead of time how to harvest the ginseng fruit. It was no surprise that Bu Yusheng and the Fourth Prince were in cahoots and aware, but how did Li Qinglian know?
Was it from his true body?
Moreover, unlike Jiang Li, who consumed the ginseng fruit directly, they chose to store it away.
[Doesn’t this just make me look like the impulsive eater, the eighth precept?]
Jiang Li swung his arm as if to dismiss the words in front of his eyes and swiftly moved. Two ginseng fruits disappeared as he passed by, wrapped in his spare garments and stored in his Storage Bracelet.
The Fourth Prince, seeing Jiang Li and Li Qinglian gathering ginseng fruits, harbored intense murderous intent, yet he had to restrain himself for the moment.
Because if you don’t collect the ginseng fruit, there are plenty of others who will. If Bu Yusheng gets them, it’s still tolerable, but if Jiang Li and Li Qinglian get them, it would be a considerable loss. Therefore, the priority was to gather as many ginseng fruits as possible.
The ginseng fruit tree remained as inert as a dead object, undisturbed by Jiang Li and the others gathering its fruits.
Occasionally, Qi Force struck the leaves, merely causing the branches to sway, completely unable to inflict the slightest damage.
It stood immovable, like the heaven and earth within this cave dwelling world, while Jiang Li and others were like ants upon it. How could ants possibly affect heaven and earth?
’The ginseng fruit tree itself is the real treasure, with the ginseng fruit being just an accessory product...’
Jiang Li looked on covetously but was helpless to act.
He had been in the tree for a while, completely failing to sense any Dao Artifact’s presence, which indicated that the artifact either had an owner and was thus unobtainable or that he was not qualified to claim it.
After all, he was merely of the Sixth Rank; if the ginseng fruit tree was a Second Grade Dao Artifact, then Jiang Li could abandon any hope of obtaining it.
The branches of the fruit tree spanned dozens of yards, yet the ginseng fruits were extremely scarce, amounting to just eighteen in total. The rest had most likely been consumed by Ji Jiji and had yet to grow back.
Jiang Li had eaten one and taken three, Li Qinglian had collected three, Bu Yusheng had taken four, and the Fourth Prince had taken three.
Only four remained on the tree.
All four stopped their movements, poised to act.
They had each gathered the ginseng fruits closest to them, leaving the remaining ones distanced. Now, with fewer targets left, the conflict intensified.
At the Fourth Prince’s brow, black Qi began to form a black hole, with what seemed like pitch-black liquid swirling inside.
Among them all, his grade was the highest, supported by Bu Yusheng, who still harbored a killing move. Together, they were unmatched by anyone else.
He had refrained from moving earlier for the sake of the Ginsengfruit, so as not to kill his target and miss out on the fruit.
Now, he moved to kill his enemy, and also for the Ginsengfruit.
With his enemies dead, the fruit would be his.
Exchanging glances with Bu Yusheng from afar, a murderous intent surged within him.
He looked towards Li Qinglian, his voice low and resonant, "I have great enmity with Jiang Li. If you are willing to leave now, I can guarantee your life is not in danger, and our past grudges can be erased."
After the Divine Dao Fruit was exposed, the Fourth Prince knew that Jiang Li would definitely sense his hostility, hence he was now openly admitting his enmity with Jiang Li.
To deal with Jiang Li, he needed to ensure Li Qinglian was out of the picture.
Li Qinglian had shown up, but Tong Yuanzi, whom he had saved, was not yet seen.
Moreover, Li Qinglian was enigmatic and had managed to rescue someone from a fifth-rank subordinate, therefore, for the sake of caution, the Fourth Prince naturally aimed to eliminate this uncertainty first.
Unfortunately, Li Qinglian was not inclined to agree.
Li Qinglian once said to Jiang Li, implying his disdain, that he disliked him and wished for no association. Now, the same sentiment was also extended to you."
Holding his sword horizontally in front of him, with his palm resting on the serene blade, Li Qinglian said, "Compared to Jiang Li, my loathing for you runs even deeper."
His enmity with Jiang Li was due to Yuan Zhen’s death at Jiang Li’s hands.
But Yuan Zhen was driven to a deadly fight with Jiang Li mainly due to the Fourth Prince’s instigation.
Li Qinglian despised Jiang Li, but he loathed the Fourth Prince even more.
If he could cause trouble for the Fourth Prince, Li Qinglian would naturally take pleasure in it.
Jiang Li, sensing the growing murderous intent, suddenly said, "Does the Fourth Prince not fear the alliance between our two families?"
Jiang Li’s special nature allowed him to fight against the Ji Clan without repercussions, a fact already verified through Ji Chengye.
However, the Fourth Prince was different; he was not able to initiate an attack on Jiang Li unless Jiang Li struck him first.
Yet, the Fourth Prince had long arranged for Zong Ming to ambush Jiang Li and had many other tricks up his sleeve; he seemed not to fear any backlash at all. It should be noted that when dealing with Jiang Zhuyun, the Dinghu Sect had all relevant parties stand down.
While the main reason then was due to the Emperor’s illness, fearing any backlash might affect the Emperor and accidently send him to his grave, such actions also showed that indirect involvement might not be effective.
But the Fourth Prince seemed indifferent.
"I have my ways," the Fourth Prince responded with a cold laugh, reaching out as strands of black Qi twisted around his palm.
He lacked the demeanor expected of a villain; at a time like this, he didn’t bother to explain his plan, denying Jiang Li the peace of dying with knowledge.
While he spoke, the distance pulsed with change, ripples appeared, followed by a figure emerging from them.
Zuo Zhao!
The Fourth Prince’s capable assistant had arrived.
To ensure Zuo Zhao could assist during an emergency, the Fourth Prince had also shared with him the method of entry and exit, but Zuo Zhao, adept in these ways, was delayed due to Jiang Li destroying a crucial point.
The Fourth Prince had refrained from making a move immediately, intending to wait for Zuo Zhao.
As soon as Zuo Zhao appeared, he immediately witnessed the standoff on the tree.
With Divine Skills like the Vermilion Bird’s Eye, his gaze was penetrating. While he may not match Jiang Li in observation, in terms of acuteness, Zuo Zhao surpassed him.
"The family of Zuo Qing, strike now!" bellowed the Fourth Prince.
Zuo Zhao shot forward like a cannonball, breaking the sound barrier and rushing forward with a booming Thunder Sound. A dark Qi exploded from the Fourth Prince’s chest, shadows like snakes twisting towards Jiang Li, their serrated maws wide open in a death grip.
An abyss-like aura enveloped Jiang Li instantly, and all sorts of distractions began to invade his mind.
Two fifth-ranks and Bu Yusheng with a killing move at the sixth-rank, while on the other side stood the enemy’s enemy, his own enemy.
The Fourth Prince’s prudence astonished Jiang Li. Clearly at the fifth-rank, yet, to deal with Jiang Li, a sixth-rank, he had to resort to schemes and manipulation, manipulating Zong Ming against Jiang Li just like before, doing everything that could be done.
Faced with a two-pronged assault, Jiang Li immediately pointed towards his brow, unleashing his final trump card.
Two streams of exceptionally vicious Qi emerged from Jiang Li’s brow, carrying an aura of destruction and manifesting as two massive stars. All light faded around them, the world dimmed, and their brilliance stole the glow from everything else.
The final trump card, the most extreme measure of slaughter, had finally been played.
However, the Fourth Prince reacted not with alarm but with delight.
"Out of tricks at last."
That trump card was Jiang Li’s final reliance. Without it, the Fourth Prince was free from any concerns.