Chapter 246: Chapter 241 Heavenly Immortal Dao Fruit
Yun Jiuye dropped a bombshell that caused a stir.
The onlookers, all of whom possessed cultivation, naturally heard the conversation happening on the shallow banks and knew that the current top disciple of the Dinghu Sect was about to advance to the fifth rank.
In an instant, there were surprised observers, those who were jealous, and even some who tried to interfere.
The current state of the Dinghu Sect included outsiders. Although everyone belonged to the Taoist community and didn’t follow the crooked paths of the Demon God Sect, even among fellow disciples there were conflicts, let alone with outsiders?
"This trip was truly worth it," sighed Daoist Xuanming. "To defeat their heresies at the Sword Discussion Conference and to potentially witness a peer’s ascent to the fifth rank first hand is indeed fortunate."
"How do you know it’s not just an obstinate relic turning into yesterday’s wilted flowers?" Yan Hanqing said indifferently.
The two exchanged glances again, with the air of an impending fight, but because of the significant news Yun Jiuye had dropped, they were forced to give each other a temporary reprieve.
Yun Jiuye’s impending promotion was significant for his peers and also equally important for the elders; it wasn’t beyond belief that their own elders had a hand in it.
Both parties departed.
Elsewhere, Yun Jiuye left with Ling Wujue, while Jiang Li returned to the boat.
By this time, everyone on the boat had returned to normal. Upon seeing Jiang Li return, they wanted to speak, but when Elder Kaiyang lifted his head slightly, they closed their mouths again.
"Injuring him without harming the core, and also helping him release excess True Qi to avoid the fool injuring himself severely, Nephew Jiang, I owe you thanks," said Elder Kaiyang.
Jiang Li smiled and said, "Since you say I have your gratitude, maybe you can teach me a few more moves."
"Oh?" Elder Kaiyang expressed surprise, "Aren’t you interested in asking about Junior Brother Yun’s promotion?"
He had previously mentioned Ling Wujue’s promotion, and now Yun Jiuye was also advancing. The timing lined up; with Jiang Li’s intelligence, it wouldn’t be hard to guess the connection between the two.
As Gongsun Qingyue’s junior brother, Jiang Li should have inquired about the situation of his sister’s rival.
"Don’t you want to know what sort of Dao Fruit Junior Brother Yun is advancing to?" Elder Kaiyang said with profound implication.
"Since he needs protectors for his promotion, it is not hard to guess what Dao Fruit the senior brother will advance to," Jiang Li replied indifferently. "When he was at sixth rank, he embraced the Independent Immortal Dao Fruit, so the one for the fifth-rank advancement naturally would also be an Immortal Fruit. There are five classes of immortals: celestial, earthly, human, divine, and ghost, where ghost and human immortals are of the sixth rank, leaving only celestial, earthly, and divine for the rest."
"The Immortal Dao Fruit, which requires a long process for the promotion ceremony, like the Dragon Tiger Celestial Master, necessitates slaying demons and destroying temples to accumulate good deeds, while the Earthly Immortal requires Shape Refining and is not the achievement of one day. What remains, then, is the Celestial Immortal."
Dao Fruits above the fifth rank may be unique, but they are also categorized, such as the Divine Position of the Star Official, and the Immortal Paths of Celestial, Earthly, and Immortal.
The pathway to the Heavenly Immortal Dao Fruit generally has a common hurdle: crossing the tribulation.
An upper-ranking immortal ascends in form to emptiness, which is the step of becoming a Heavenly Immortal, and in this step, one must cross through Heavenly Tribulation to refine yin dregs from the mundane essence and achieve a body without impurities.
The Heavenly Immortal Dao Fruit is a true test of foundational depth; the difficulty primarily concentrates on the Heavenly Tribulation stage, with other conditions being diverse but generally not too difficult. Yun Jiuye has presumably met the other conditions and only this barrier remains.
"Fifth rank, huh? From the lower four grades to the top five, one rank’s difference is like that between clouds and mud. You must have witnessed the strength of a fifth-rank before. Don’t you want to do something?" Elder Kaiyang asked with a sly smile, "Perhaps create a little ’accident’?"
"Uncle Master is jesting," Jiang Li replied without the slightest interest, "This is the Dinghu Sect; what sort of ’accident’ could there possibly be here? If there were to be an accident, it would be due to the senior brother himself, not someone else."
Of course, Jiang Li was aware of the gap between the sixth and fifth ranks.
Not to mention the distant, let’s talk about the recent promotion ceremony of Lu King—Suppressing Ten Thousand Ghosts, which is not something a sixth rank could achieve. If Jiang Li were to confront those tens of thousands of Yin Souls, he would certainly be consumed without a trace.
There was also Jiang Wuming, who had been tricked and slain by Jiang Li’s scheme. Even the current Jiang Li would definitely not be able to kill Jiang Wuming relying on his own strength; if the two were to fight fairly, Jiang Li’s fate would be sealed with death.
If Yun Jiuye were to be promoted to the fifth rank, unless Gongsun Qingyue also advanced to the fifth rank, she would basically stand no chance against Yun Jiuye.
If this were happening somewhere else, Jiang Li might have been tempted to interfere with Yun Jiuye’s promotion, but at the Dinghu Sect...
At their home turf within the Dinghu Sect, if outsiders could disrupt Yun Jiuye’s promotion, then it might as well dissolve earlier than later.
If Jiang Li really dared to show the slightest hint of interest, he was afraid that he would be immediately blacklisted by Elder Kaiyang, branded among the distrustful.
’Why has the elder suddenly decided to test me...?’
At that thought, a flash of realization struck Jiang Li’s mind, ’This is a trap set by Yun Jiuye.’
Ling Wujue blocking him on the shore wasn’t to test his strength but to use him as a step-stool, to showcase his own power. Thus, this would provoke the caution of the Sect’s seniors.
After all, Jiang Li’s identity was special, and it was impossible to assure that there wasn’t someone within the Sect who harbored enmity against the Jiang family, perhaps even considering Jiang Li as some naturally evil Jiang family devil, destined to turn against the Ji family eventually.
Following this line of thought, it was possible that Ling Wujue’s actions also aimed to provoke hostility and anger in Jiang Li. If he really lost his mind and disturbed Yun Jiuye’s promotion, he reckoned he would be apprehended on the spot, to the point where even Elder Tianxuan couldn’t protect him.
’Such silent, water-like tactics are beyond Ling Wujue by more than just a notch; no wonder he could make a True Disciple like Ling Wujue grovel before him.’
In Jiang Li’s eyes, the only person more formidable than Yun Jiuye was his own master.
Among the Six Great Elders, there were two who were his... followers—acting without seemingly ever bestowing any good deeds—relying entirely on these two self-provided supporters, which was truly formidable.
Seeing that Elder Kaiyang still seemed to hold some doubts, Jiang Li straightforwardly said, "I dare to guarantee in front of Uncle Master that I have no intention to cause disturbance."
Only then did Elder Kaiyang dispel the last bit of his doubt.
He had assimilated the Dao Fruit of Emperor Guan, and as Emperor Guan is typically deified from a mortal realm, his divine position was rather broad. Although it didn’t transform into Dao Fruit Divine Power, it still endowed Elder Kaiyang with a similar sensing ability upon reaching Dao Fruit Perfection.
One instance was the well-known "Swearing in front of Second Master Guan."
Anyone who made a vow in front of Elder Kaiyang, he would sense it, able to distinguish whether it was earnest or insincere. With the difference in realm between Jiang Li and Elder Kaiyang, Elder Kaiyang didn’t doubt that he could be fooled by Jiang Li, hence he trusted his words.
"That’s for the best," Elder Kaiyang said, "Don’t be too anxious. Even if Junior Brother Yun advances first, it does not mean he will be the Sect Leader. You must realize the current Sect Leader is at his prime—it would still be a long way to the top for him even after promotion to fifth-rank."
Even if the Sect Leader suddenly died, as long as Yun Jiuye hadn’t reached third grade, he wouldn’t become the Sect Leader.
After all, in this world, power speaks louder than identity and rank. It’s strength that determines status, not identity or tenure.
Elder Kaiyang didn’t have to spell this out; Jiang Li understood it well.
However, that didn’t mean Yun Jiuye wouldn’t benefit. At the very least, he would gain preferential access to the Sect’s resources.
Elixirs, Dao Artifacts, Dao Fruits, and Cultivation Techniques—being one step ahead wouldn’t guarantee Yun Jiuye to become the Sect Leader, but it would certainly benefit him the most in terms of resources. Some of these resources were even difficult for his wealthy senior sister to obtain.
That was the key point.
Elder Kaiyang was indirect in his words, and the comfort he offered was trivial, but Jiang Li still pretended to appreciate it.
After seeing Jiang Li act receptive to his words, Elder Kaiyang looked satisfied. He then flipped his palm and stamped a blood-red, dragon-headed mark onto Jiang Li’s hand.
"Elder Tianxuan transmitted the Yinglong Transformation to you in advance, right? It just so happens that I’m also adept in this technique. I will pass on a secret to you, to aid you in achieving the Dragon Body with your physical body," Elder Kaiyang said.
But aren’t you a martial artist, Elder?
Jiang Li knew that although the Yinglong Transformation seemed to be a Body Refining Martial Art, it was actually a Magic Sculpting Body technique; theoretically, a pure martial artist shouldn’t be privy to such a technique.
Before Jiang Li could express his confusion, however, Elder Kaiyang had already tipped his hat low, ceasing to speak further, and sailed towards the shore with the other boats, letting Jiang Li and the others disembark before departing.
He had to continue rowing until the start of the Sword Discussion Conference.
Had it not been for the need of Elder Kaiyang’s presence at the Sword Discussion Conference, the other elders would probably have had him rowing for another ten days or half a month.
"Well, let’s go."
Watching Elder Kaiyang leave, Jiang Li gave up on pursuing further questions and led his family members to register as Outer Disciples.