Chapter 307: Chapter 30 Ginseng Fruit Tree
"Like tasting wildflowers after only ever seeing cultivated ones, the flavor is truly incomparable."
Jiang Li saw the words that emerged before his eyes and nearly coughed out loud, almost losing his poise.
However, inappropriate as the description was, it held some truth.
Up until now, all of Jiang Li’s power had been drawn from the natural world, but suddenly absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, he felt his Innate Qi become a bit more agile.
"Perhaps it’s the taste of wildflowers..."
Jiang Li frowned, and with a thought, prompted the words to appear in a more solemn form.
"Perhaps because the Qi of Heaven and Earth is born from the world itself, while the essence of ’Qi Tomb’ is to refine all Qi into one Innate Qi, and then from that Innate Qi, transform it into Ten Thousand Qi."
Heaven, earth, wood, wind, fire, water, mountains, and metal—the Qi of ’Qi Tomb’ originating from nature; indeed, it was easier to comprehend the intrinsic principles and elevate all form of Qi than the method of Refining Essence into Qi.
’This crucial secret must be known by the main Jiang family, while our branch can only grope our way blindly across the river, even if we have cultivated the most orthodox Innate Qi.’
’True Inheritor speaks a single word; false inheritance fills thousands of volumes. This saying holds true, but alas, the people of the Jiang Family’s main house have all gone overseas...’
Thinking this, Jiang Li felt an itch in his heart and wished that he could fetch a member of the main family right in front of him and interrogate him thoroughly.
While he pondered, the Qi rings around him tightened, preventing Zong Hai’s palm from landing even a step closer.
"Boom!"
The palm force impacted against the barrier in front, exploding backwards and recoiling around Zong Hai’s arm, layering into Qi rings that left marks on his body as if giant invisible chains bound his form.
Jiang Li, who possessed four Uniqueness Dao Fruits and mastered various supreme skills, surpassed others of the same rank in every grade, and by the time he reached Sixth Rank, his foundation and heritage far exceeded others.
People like Bu Yusheng and Yuan Zhen could still compete with Jiang Li, but Zong Hai, neither in resources nor in cultivation techniques, could match them—how could he compete with Jiang Li?
Without turning around, by simply triggering Qimen, Jiang Li kept Zong Hai from advancing.
Zong Hai circulated his blood and Qi; True Qi surged like a tidal wave and quietly, a dark Qi began to emerge from his brow.
"Crackle and pop—"
The sounds of flesh and bones moving sounded like firecrackers, like thunder, as Zong Hai recklessly squeezed every bit of his Essence Element under the influence of that dark Qi, with a fiendish spiritual force starting to emerge within him.
The Qi rings binding his arms, under the burst of violent force, also became unbearable and shattered.
The other three did not undergo such drastic changes as Zong Hai, but similar transformations occurred on them as well.
"There indeed was a fallback left within them."
Jiang Li, with his back to Zong Hai and the others, sighed lightly.
It was evident they too had been implanted with the Divine Skills of the Three Corpses Gods, invisible normally but exploding in crisis to enhance their power by forcibly stimulating the Three Elements, which, upon failure, would also obliterate their Divine Souls, leaving no survivors.
It was with these considerations in mind that Jiang Li absorbed the spiritual mechanism to replenish his power while...
Nurturing Sword Intent!
"Clang!"
Sword light shone brilliantly; a clear and nearly transparent sword rose from Jiang Li’s heavenly spirit, Sword Qi undulating, it seemed to encompass everything yet existed within everything. The Sword’s shadow entered Zong Hai’s deepest gaze, dominating his sight, his mind, and even encroaching upon his consciousness.
Everything in the world seemed to become illusionary, and no longer real, from physical body, Qi and blood, True Qi, and in the end, only consciousness faced this purely nearly transparent sword light directly.
Sword Cultivator!
Lawless Freedom!
"It’s you!"
Zong Hai’s voice boomed in shock, his mind so overcome with a dense evil thought that it couldn’t suppress the horror.
He threw a punch, the air exploding before his fist, with a ferocious wind force striking the sword light but passing right through it.
The sword, like a phantom, surged out from the wind, piercing through Zong Hai’s forearm, pinning it right in the center of his forehead.
Zong Hai tried to dodge, but the Sword Intent that had invaded his mind erased the consciousness to evade, making him watch helplessly as the sword stabbed into his skull.
A single strike pierced him, illusionary gray-white energy being drawn out by the sword light; then, the sword light split into three, sweeping across the necks of the other three, severing their Divine Souls.
A group of four had come quickly and left just as swiftly.
Behind Jiang Li, the wind force stirred, blocking the fist’s wind, and with a gesture, the sword light spiraled back in the air, landing on his knee.
Behind him, Zong Hai fell to his knees with a thud, then collapsed heavily.
He was dead.
After all the effort to enter the mortal realm from the Outer Lands, he reached life’s end just as he was about to begin.
Such is the impermanence of the world.
Jiang Li flicked his fingers over the gray-white energy, his Divine Sense stabbing into it like sharp needles.
This gray-white energy was Zong Hai’s Divine Soul.
Many people thought Divine Souls looked exactly like their person, but in fact, until one achieved the Primordial Spirit, Divine Souls had no fixed shape; they only assumed human form because their owner’s subconscious thought it would.
If Yin Spirits managed to survive post-death, they would present in the state of their deaths as well due to this subconscious impression.
And now Jiang Li, with the Heavenly Escape Sword Skill splitting Zong Hai’s Divine Soul, salvaged a part under the obliteration of the dark energy, decisively infiltrating it with his Divine Sense to search for useful memories.
"Taiyin Refining God Skill?" echoed the voice of Tianxuan.
"Yes, elder sister taught me," Jiang Li said as she searched her memory.
This secret technique was originally created by Tianxuan. On that night in the wilderness of Qi Mountain, when Gongsun Qingyue encountered a Yin God, she passed it on to Jiang Li.
’This damn girl...’
The reflection in her right eye seemed to show some annoyance.
’Taiyin is crucial to my foundation; I’ve always kept it well hidden. When I passed on the technique to her, I warned her not to disclose it to anyone else. I never expected this damn girl to leak it out so easily. She’s backstabbing me!’
With that, any scrap of guilt Tianxuan felt for obstructing Gongsun Qingyue completely dissipated.
If a disciple is disloyal, they shouldn’t blame their master for being ruthless.
Not to mention Tianxuan’s annoyance, after Jiang Li stabbed into Zong Hai’s Divine Soul with her Divine Sense, she violently scavenged his most recent and active memories, visualizing them in front of her with her Divine Sense.
Disregarding many fragmented memories, several images flashed by.
Jiang Li briefly skimmed through them with a touch of regret, "None of his previously used techniques are here."
The technique that Zong Hai used to transport his blood qi and burst forth with physical strength was no ordinary thing. In Jiang Li’s view, with this power, Zong Hai could break mountains with his movements. His defeat was simply because Jiang Li was stronger.
"That must be some kind of Fetal Breathing Technique, which uses internal breathing to replace the external circulation, returning to the fetal breath to understand life and death, digging into the physical potential, a method of body Dao Cultivating Immortality," Tianxuan, with her broad knowledge, identified the technique at once. "Elder Wuqu once collected various Fetal Breathing Techniques and combined them with the Yinglong Transformation to create a unique Fetal Breathing Secret Technique. He should have passed it to you; why do you need to look for another method?"
Uh...
Jiang Li spread open his left hand, looking at the blood-red dragon-shaped imprint on his palm and remained silent.
Could he say he was too busy and had forgotten?
Wind Queen’s Strange Gate, Innate Qi, Innate True Body Method, and the Great Circle Sword... Jiang Li had too much to juggle. Even with the ability of the Karma Collection, Jiang Li had to make choices.
Without a doubt, the thing Elder Wuqu gave was of lesser importance, and Jiang Li had not yet had time to thoroughly comprehend it.
One might also say, Jiang Li had forgotten.
"Continue watching Zong Hai’s memories, keep watching."
Jiang Li feigned laughter to change the topic.
After discarding the fragmented memories, the most profound and well-preserved part of the recent memories manifested.
One of them was the scene where the Fourth Prince and Tong Yuanzi confronted each other, and with one palm strike on Tong Yuanzi, causing paralysis and swelling, with a wilting Qi Mechanism.
Next, the Green-clothed Young Master appeared, blocking the evil Qi with his sword and rescued Tong Yuanzi.
Then...
The solemn and ancient Daoist Temple emerged in a halo of Dao Light. In the center of the temple a tree of great size emitted auspicious Qi; among its lush branches, children not yet three days old hung, tied to the branches, their heads shaking and limbs flailing as the tree materialized.
’Ginsengfruit?’
Waves surged in Jiang Li’s heart.
He never imagined finding something similar to a ginseng fruit tree in this Cave Heaven Blessed Land.
If this tree truly was a ginseng fruit tree, then it was undoubtedly the source of power blocking Tianxuan and others, a Third Grade... no, definitely a Second Grade Dao Artifact.
Jiang Li immediately stood up and looked south, the towering tree he had seen before reentered his sight, its appearance exactly the same as in Zong Hai’s memory, except he still couldn’t see the child-like fruits.
This tree was a thousand feet tall, and the fruits were only slightly larger than a fist; unless it was laden with fruits, one wouldn’t see them without getting close.
’Why would there be a ginseng fruit tree in the Iron Pillar Temple?’
’...’
’No, now is not the time to ponder why there’s a fruit tree...’
Jiang Li grasped his long sword, his Sword Qi fierce, ’The key now is to stop the Fourth Prince from getting the fruit tree.’
Whatever the enemy wants is what must be prevented. If the fruit fell into the Fourth Prince’s hands, the consequences, Jiang Li thought, would be troublesome.
Just as the Fourth Prince couldn’t bear to see Jiang Li prosper, Jiang Li couldn’t bear to see the Fourth Prince thrive either.
Every bit of the enemy’s progress is a threat to oneself.
"Jiang Li, stop him."
Tianxuan suddenly spoke, her voice cold, and with Jiang Li’s understanding of her, he could even sense a killing intent.
"This fruit from the tree is the essence of vitality; consuming it can extend life. The fruit born on a Second Grade Dao Artifact might break certain limits."
Certain limits?
The Emperor’s lifespan?
Jiang Li inwardly shuddered, realizing Tianxuan now deemed some of the Emperor’s actions as abnormal.
She was thinking of hastening the Emperor’s demise to replace him.
An Emperor who lived long but caused trouble was better replaced sooner rather than later.
After all, as long as the Emperor Dao Fruit existed, Great Zhou would never lack top-tier powerhouses.