Chapter 261: Chapter 256 Zhuang Zhou’s Dream Butterfly
The deal was struck, and both Jiang Li and the Mo Sect got what they wanted.
Jiang Li looked forward to reaching the fifth rank with great enthusiasm, while the Mo Sect had secured a Sword Holder, boosting their morale immensely.
Of course, everything would depend on the power of the sword, but with Jiang Li, the versatile handyman on their side, the Mo Sect at least didn’t have to worry about finding someone to wield the capabilities of the sword. Although it wasn’t a guaranteed victory, at least they wouldn’t inexplicably lose due to the lack of a suitable wielder.
Moreover, this shift placed the pressure on the opposing side. Their side had avoided an inexplicable defeat, but the enemy had not, so by comparison, it was as if their chances of victory had increased.
After exchanging pleasantries, Jiang Li was about to return the Blue Butterfly to Tan Wuwei, only to find Tan Wuwei waving his hand generously and saying, "Keep the Dream Butterfly; in this battle, whether we win or lose, the Dream Butterfly shall belong to you."
’Dream Butterfly... quite fitting indeed,’ thought Jiang Li, chuckling softly. "With terms so generous from your side, aren’t you afraid that I won’t give it my all?"
Tan Wuwei’s face broke into a smile, and he suddenly transmitted his voice, "You would dare to assassinate the Lu King for justice, how could you be untrustworthy?"
Then, Tan Wuwei spoke aloud, "We have faith in your moral character."
It wasn’t easy indeed.
It was the first time Jiang Li had heard someone express trust in his moral character, and he couldn’t help but commend the good judgment.
For that discernment alone, Jiang Li couldn’t let down the expectations of the Mo Sect.
However, it turned out that Tan Wuwei knew of Jiang Li’s covert involvement in the Lu King’s death...
This topic was especially taboo, and neither Jiang Li nor anyone else had spoken of it. At most, others knew about Jiang Li’s competition with Zhong Shenxiu and Zhang Daoyi over Ghost Gate, but they believed that the Lu King’s death was due to the intervention of the Buddha Country and the Devil God Sect.
And with Elder Tianxuan vouching for him, on the surface, Jiang Li was unrelated to the death of the Lu King.
"To think that someone from the Mo Sect was present that day," Jiang Li probed.
"I myself led people to Yong Province to observe the situation and prepare disaster relief supplies when drought occurred there. During the battle at Qi Mountain, I was actually watching from the sidelines," said Tan Wuwei earnestly. "I intended to risk my life to obstruct the Lu King, but unexpectedly, both the Devil God Sect and the Buddha Country acted before me, dooming the Lu King’s efforts. Later, to avoid suspicion, I didn’t show myself. When the Princess arrived later, wanting to clarify the situation, the Mo Sect found it inappropriate to stay due to certain reasons, so we withdrew from Yong Province to join other sectmates at the Dinghu Sect."
So, it turned out that Tan Wuwei wasn’t the leader...
Jiang Li’s right hand performed calculations within his sleeve, unhindered by rank interference.
This lady, she was of the fifth rank.
"In order to be close to the common people, Commander Tan willingly ages her appearance to look like an ordinary person. Among all the commanders of the Mo Sect, there are few who can stand shoulder to shoulder with Commander Tan in both words and deeds," said Mu Lingyi, who couldn’t help but express her admiration.
To the commoners, cultivators were beings from another world. No matter how kind, they would always seem condescending. To integrate with them, one must first shed the aura of a cultivator.
When people saw Tan Wuwei beside Jiang Li, who was extremely good-looking, they were naturally more drawn to Tan Wuwei.
But for a woman, appearance was probably of utmost importance. Not only did Tan Wuwei not use her cultivation to preserve her looks, but she deliberately aged her face. With such a spirit of sacrifice, it was no wonder that Mu Lingyi held her in such high esteem.
"It’s just a trifle," said Tan Wuwei, shaking her head, completely unconcerned. "All in all, we trust you. Please accept this Dream Butterfly. You must use your essence blood to conduct the sacrificial cultivation for the Dream Butterfly, so it will recognize you as its master."
As she spoke, Tan Wuwei also passed on a mental method. Jiang Li acted as instructed, forcing a drop of essence blood to the tip of his finger and dropping it onto the Dream Butterfly, then performed a simple ritual with his True Qi.
He and the butterfly, as dreamy and illusory as it was, established a subtle and profound connection.
Simultaneously, information about the Dao Fruit emerged once again.
[Fifth Grade Dao Fruit: Grandmaster Zhuang Zhou]
[Category: Human]
[Fitting Conditions: Human Species Sixth Grade Dao Fruit, Detachment]
[Promotion Ceremony: ??????????]
[Divine Skills: Zhuang Zhou’s Dream Butterfly, ???, ?????????]
A series of question marks appeared because Jiang Li did not meet the Dao Fruit’s fitting conditions, failing on both counts; hence, not only was the promotion ceremony not displayed, but the Dao Artifact also had only one Divine Skill operational. Moreover, Jiang Li felt that this Divine Skill had been downgraded to an ability, reducing its effectiveness substantially.
Even so, Jiang Li felt that he had gained immensely.
[Zhuang Zhou’s Dream Butterfly: Once Zhuang Zhou dreamt he was a butterfly, vividly fluttering around, so happy with itself, it didn’t know it was Zhuang Zhou. Possess a butterfly incarnation, share perception, and traverse between reality and illusion. The activity area of the incarnation depends on the cultivation realm.]
At the moment when he hadn’t yet accommodated the Dao Fruit, Dream Butterfly was the butterfly incarnation of Jiang Li.
And the ability "Zhuang Zhou’s Dream Butterfly" seemed quite ordinary, merely providing Jiang Li with an additional moving eye, but its effect was not limited to what was manifested.
Firstly, the sensory sharing wasn’t just the Dream Butterfly sharing Jiang Li’s perception, but also Jiang Li sharing the perception of the Dream Butterfly.
This was the crux of the classic anecdote in Zhuang Zhou’s "Dream of the Butterfly" that says, "I do not know whether it was Zhuang Zhou who dreamt he was a butterfly, or whether it was the butterfly who dreamt it was Zhuang Zhou." The distinction between illusion and reality blurred, and the perceptions of Jiang Li and the Dream Butterfly overlaid.
Of course, the Dream Butterfly was no ordinary butterfly, existing between the illusory and the real, clearly seeing the movements of the Five Vile Qi, perceiving the ripples in space when objects moved, and detecting various Qi mechanisms’ fluctuations.
With his perception overlapping with it, Jiang Li felt an extraordinary enhancement in his vision, even his Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill took a leap forward.
Even the "Unity" from the Liezi Dao Fruit seemed to have reached a new level of advancement.
Jiang Li, having fully integrated the Dao Fruit, should theoretically be able to wield all the abilities of the Dao Fruit, but now, with him as one with the Dream Butterfly, it was as if the Dao Fruit abilities had entered into a new realm.
’This isn’t simply an incarnation, this is an entirely fresh perspective,’ he thought.
Even with Jiang Li’s profound mental state, he now felt the impulse to exclaim, "Zhuangzi is freaking awesome!"
With a single thought, the Dream Butterfly gracefully took flight, circling around him, showing no sign of clumsiness or discomfort. To Jiang Li, multitasking had become an instinct; in order to lay the best foundation, he had used Karma Collection to brush up on many abilities for himself.
Anything theoretically possible for humans, Jiang Li could basically do.
As Dream Butterfly moved, the perspective changed as well, giving Jiang Li the novel sensation of discovering a new world.
In the end, the Dream Butterfly landed on Jiang Li’s shoulder, its wings fluttering, almost giving off an illusory feeling of vanishing into the void.
At that moment, Jiang Li was testing Dream Butterfly’s Void Transformation Ability, but as soon as he focused, his True Qi flooded out like a dam breach. As the Dream Butterfly became increasingly ethereal, the consumption of True Qi also surged alarmingly, which startled Jiang Li.
Considering this rate of consumption, he could sustain the Dream Butterfly’s ethereal state for no more than half an hour.
Moreover, the present Dream Butterfly was a Dao Artifact with a solid form, yet under the influence of the Dao Fruit, it could transform the tangible into intangible. This made Jiang Li increasingly anticipate the potency of the full-fledged Dao Fruit Divine Powers.
After briefly experimenting with the Dream Butterfly, Jiang Li apologetically said to the others, "I’ve kept you all waiting, let’s set off now."
The rest smiled and expressed their understanding.
Who wouldn’t have such moments of testing upon acquiring a new Dao Fruit or Dao Artifact?
The team, now numbering seven, strode upon the charred stone path leading forward and encountered the towering figure of Elder Tianpeng at the foot of the mountain.
With Elder Tianpeng’s cultivation, the conversations of Jiang Li and his companions didn’t escape his ears. Seeing that an agreement had been reached, Elder Tianpeng didn’t ask further questions, his expression was no longer as stern as before, but rather took on the casualness reminiscent of his past leisurely viewings of spring courtyard paintings.
He led the way in front, his massive body surrounded by leaping purple flames that dispersed the heat, guiding the group up the mountain.
The vast mountain was barren, the ground scorched. The extreme dryness in the air made everyone exercise their powers to resist. Streams of red flowed down along the ravines, the spring water was crystal clear to the bottom, yet carried extremely strong Flame Qi, and the temperature was feared to be as high as lava.
"This is the Red Refining Spring formed by the confluence of True Earth Vein Fire and Dinghu Water; it can temper the physical body and refine weapons, provided one can withstand it," Elder Tianpeng explained.
"After the Sword Discussion Conference concludes, all of you may collect some."
Around the Red Refining Spring, there were stone houses built orderly along the mountain.
This place was the Artifact Pavilion.
However, today’s destination for the group was not the visible Artifact Pavilion, but rather the furnace inside the mountain.
Subsequently, the group climbed up to the middle of the mountain, where the upper portion of the mountain was hollowed out, leaving only a thin layer of rock walls on the edges.
Following a spacious corridor inward, the heat became increasingly oppressive, to the point where even the weaker in power like Qi Changsheng and Mu Lingyi began to sweat.
Upon reaching the end, their vision suddenly brightened, and the dazzling light of the fire, akin to a reverse waterfall, rose from below and shot up to the clouds, casting the vague hint of a massive silhouette within the flames.
But in the next instant, as the firelight dimmed and the Flame Qi softened, the mountain-like presence revealed itself, and to everyone’s astonishment, what appeared to be a mountain was actually a giant sword as tall as a mountain.
The interior space of the mountain was like a large cauldron, exceptionally vast, with stone steps going up and down along the mountain walls. The giant sword was thrust straight into the center of the Mountain Cauldron, its entirety covered with a thick layer of rock, resembling a towering sword-shaped peak.
On the side of the sword facing Jiang Li, the blade bore depictions of the sun, moon, and stars above and landscapes and vegetation below, while the hilt was inscribed with countless profound and mysterious characters. Even though it was layered with rock, these imprints remained vividly clear, exuding an utmost supreme and regal aura without the vast pressure, but still allowing for a deep appreciation of its lofty majesty.
"The Xuanyuan Sword..." Jiang Li whispered.
He now understood why Elder Tianxuan had said what he did; the promise of seeing the Xuanyuan Sword was indeed no empty boast.
The Xuanyuan Sword stood there boldly before them, clear for all to see if their eyes were not blind.