Chapter 281: Chapter 5: The Work of the Devil God Sect
The Illusion Spirit Captivating Heart Array was forcibly broken, and the previously invisible traces became evident amidst the chaotic Qi Mechanism.
Under the clear blue sky, Jiang Li’s figure flashed into the Daoist Temple, becoming one of the escapees, moving through the stone steps and wooden corridors like an invisible ghost, swiftly approaching the Array Core of the Illusion Spirit Captivating Heart Array.
In just three breaths of time, he arrived at a hall bearing the sign "Tongming Hall." At the same time, a middle-aged Daoist hurriedly rushed out from inside.
From his wildly fluctuating Qi Mechanism and agitated True Qi, it was clear that the Daoist was in a state of anxious panic.
As Jiang Li’s figure silently emerged, facing the middle-aged Daoist directly, he instantly fell into extreme alarm.
That was him.
"His mental state is weak; this man doesn’t seem to be the real mastermind, but there’s no one else inside Tongming Hall..."
In an instant, Jiang Li surveyed his surroundings. Then, enveloped by a misty Qi, he took a step forward, godlike and demonlike, shrinking the ground beneath him as he closed in.
It didn’t matter that he wasn’t the mastermind; what mattered was he had glimpsed a corner of Jiang Li’s mind and even attempted to dig into Jiang Li’s memories.
That was enough.
The figure that appeared out of nowhere and surged forward caused the middle-aged Daoist’s back to break out in cold sweat as he tensed up completely, overwhelmed by shock and horror. He erupted his True Qi, creating wave-like fluctuations that enveloped him.
However, in the next instant, the closing-in Jiang Li lashed out with a claw, his fingers covered with scales, the tips like blades, and the claws covered in red patterns resembling a dragon claw.
This claw was like the Divine Dragon Claw, carrying a force that seemed to pierce the heavens and earth, as if the world itself twisted at that moment, with the wind and clouds revolving around his godlike and demonlike figure. In a single move, the middle-aged Daoist seemed to battle the heavens and earth itself.
The wave-like fluctuations rapidly spiraled under the Dragon Claw, failing to protect the Daoist. Instead, they were drawn into the claw. Soon, the claw’s shadow dominated every inch of his sight, stripping away his perception, leaving his mind a blank, utterly devoid of the will to resist.
"Stop!"
A whoosh of wind could be heard, along with a shout.
But it was too late.
"Crack—"
Accompanied by a crisp sound, the Daoist’s neck twisted unnaturally, his face now turned backward, his head twisted completely.
Jiang Li then turned and left without any hesitation, his figure cloaked in misty Qi, ready to leave.
"Bold!"
A stern-faced Daoist, appearing to be in his thirties, hurriedly approached from the other side of Tongming Hall. Seeing Jiang Li turning to leave, he couldn’t help but shout angrily, stepping forward and pushing out his right hand in a palm strike with straightforward palm force and an overwhelming Qi like a crashing wave, leaving traces in the air like ripples on water.
The cultivation of Iron Pillar Temple had an ancient style, focusing on the Dual Cultivation of Life and Spirit. Although not well-known in the world, the techniques cultivated were certainly not wrong, for it was founded by members of the Royal Family.
As the Daoist thrust his palm, it revealed his exceptional foundation; his palm force surged like a wild wave towards Jiang Li, the air becoming incredibly viscous, trying to hinder Jiang Li’s departure.
"Bang!"
The wave enveloped the misty Qi-shrouded figure, followed by wave upon wave of Qi surges that battered continuously.
Seeing this, the Daoist’s expression turned steely as he rushed forward, shouting as he struck with another palm, "Let this poor Daoist see what kind of daring scoundrel dares to run amok in Iron Pillar Temple."
But before he could close in, he saw that the Qi waves had already completely engulfed the opponent—no, they were being forcibly absorbed by the opponent.
"One Qi Connects Profound."
The Daoist rapidly channeled his True Qi, displaying unrivaled prowess, with True Qi swirling intensely around him, striking the vortex with a palm force capable of shaking mountains. But—
It did not shake the opponent in the slightest.
Previously, even though Jiang Li could dissolve True Qi, he still had to deflect or resist it. But now, Jiang Li had cultivated the Innate True Body Method. Although he was far from achieving minor success, the changes in his physical body were already becoming apparent.
The refinement of the Innate True Body Method wasn’t about directly strengthening the body but enhancing its essence. In biological terms, this meant enhancing the cells and even smaller entities.
Currently, there were no significant changes in Jiang Li’s physical strength, but because of the fundamental changes, he could withstand stronger impacts.
It was as if he had evolved from an Elite Monster into a Boss, with a permanent Super Body, a real resilient dog. This palm strike landed on his body, and he didn’t even need to deflect it, able to completely absorb the palm force.
Immediately, the vortex spun rapidly, gripping the Daoist’s right palm, and a palm with a hardened outer layer entered the Daoist’s field of vision, striking his right palm.
The irresistible force surged instantly, and the Daoist could even sense a familiar Qi Mechanism—that was his own palm force.
"Crack!"
The surging wave crashed, and the palm force struck, flipping the Daoist’s right arm backward, emitting a crisp sound of bone breaking, and he was flung backward by the overwhelming wave.
Within the surrounding misty Qi, a low roar sounded, as if a True Dragon was soaring, carrying a storm and roaring away.
"Don’t go!"
The Taoist’s figure pressed down forcibly, landing on the ground, then he gathered his Qi and rushed through the wave of air, fiercely chasing after.
Corridors, stone steps, the scenes flashed by.
He had already lost sight of the person in front of him, but outside the Iron Pillar Temple and around the Royal court, guards patrolled, including a Prince and two other young outstanding individuals, whom he thought could impede the escapee’s progress.
Moreover, such a commotion had stirred the entire Iron Pillar Temple, and by now, the temple master should be on his way.
Just to buy a little time, just to...
He burst out of the Daoist temple gate, his eyes met with the falling dust and flying sand, and a young man, handsome and composed, stood with his hands behind his back in front of the temple.
It was only this young man.
The noise of the skirmish and the traces of the murderer were completely gone; only this young man was there.
The Taoist fixed his gaze on the young man, anger showing on his face, "It was you!"
"If the Daoist refers to the one who just escaped, it wasn’t me," Jiang Li replied lightly, "I’ve heard that members of the Devil God Sect have been spotted near the Divine Capital recently. Perhaps that person was one of them."
First step, shift the blame to the professionals.
"But Jiang has no interest in the affairs of the Devil God Sect," Jiang Li continued, his body surrounded by eight qi, his aura menacing, "The Iron Pillar Temple used an Illusion Array to pry into my mind, don’t you think an explanation is due?"
Second step, be the first to make a move.
Since the person was killed by the Devil God Sect, the blame couldn’t fall on Jiang, but rather, the Iron Pillar Temple had attacked Jiang Li’s mind with the Illusion Spirit Captivating Heart Array and needed to provide an explanation.
Hearing this, the Taoist’s demeanor suddenly weakened, his suspicions challenging to voice despite his doubts.
There was no choice, those who came openly to the Iron Pillar Temple were not without backing, and without the upper hand in reason, it was really hard to go against such a person.
His right arm drooping, his firm face filled with shock and anger, yet he found it hard to speak in retort.
The two Daoist boys, Qingfeng and Mingyue, smartly did not run directly to the Tongming Hall but called others instead. The Taoist was specially here for the issues with the Array Core, but before he even reached the Tongming Hall, he witnessed someone brazenly committing murder.
Now, as he finally identified the murderer, he was unable to voice his suspicions because he didn’t have the upper hand.
Jiang Li’s aura became even more threatening, his body surrounded by circulating eight qi, gradually manifesting anomalies.
Jiang Li had both reason and backing, which in a place like the Divine Capital, were enough for him to go unchallenged, even more so if added strength was considered.
Though the Iron Pillar Temple was founded by someone from the Royal Family, its strength wasn’t considered strong; there were no fourth-rank members in the temple, and only the temple master was fifth-rank. The benefit of a place of quiet cultivation was not being easily disturbed, the downside was that demonstrating Dao Fruit was not easy, with most Dao Fruits being required to evolve over time.
And truly, the Iron Pillar Temple wasn’t so much a sect, even if those within cultivated similar techniques, most pursued their own paths. It was more a place of retreat than a sect power, and without a justified stance, its members wouldn’t aggressively come forward for others.
Now, what mainly troubled the Iron Pillar Temple was not finding the murderer, but dealing with Jiang Li’s aggressive stance.
The Taoist felt extremely aggrieved, opening his mouth to speak but unsure of what to say.
"Fellow Daoist Jiang, if you have any requests, please feel free to voice them."
At a critical moment, a soothing voice emanated from within the temple, followed by soft footsteps, and a Daoist with long hair casually tied up, beard longer than his stomach, wearing a loose green robe, barefoot, and shaking a Palm Leaf Fan, walked out.
Behind him followed two Daoist boys who looked about eleven or twelve years old.
The Daoist smiled graciously at Jiang Li and bowed, saying, "I am Tong Yuanzi, the humble temple master of the Iron Pillar Temple. Today, the fault lies with the Iron Pillar Temple first; whatever your requests, as long as the temple can fulfill them, we will not refuse."
Tong Yuanzi bore the demeanor of an unfettered hermit, adopting a humble posture and acknowledging fault, making it hard for others to continue aggressions.
As the saying goes, don’t slap a smiling face, unless one is intentionally looking for trouble.
Of course, Jiang Li wasn’t looking for trouble intentionally; instead, he had come to form a good relationship with the Iron Pillar Temple, specifically to acquire their Sixth Grade Unique Tao Fruit. However, someone tried to stir trouble, forcing Jiang Li to covertly achieve his objective through other means.
"Does the temple master know of Jiang?" Jiang Li slightly restrained his Qi and inquired.
"The Princess had someone send a message ahead of time, saying that a Fellow Daoist named Jiang Li would come to participate in the Dao Fruit Promotion Ceremony. Since you had previously stated your surname, I boldly guessed you are Fellow Daoist Jiang Li," Tong Yuanzi said with a smile.
"In that case, there’s no need for further elaboration," Jiang Li nodded, "My request is to expedite the Dao Fruit Promotion."
By now, he had revealed his direct intention, aiming for the Dao Fruit.
The Dao Fruit of Pure Yang True Man was Jiang Li’s primary purpose for this visit, and everything else bore service to this objective.
Regarding whether the Taoist who targeted Jiang Li had someone instructing him, after the Promotion Ceremony, there would be a time for reckoning.
If he couldn’t be promoted to the Dao Fruit of the Pure Yang True Man this time, then Jiang Li would simply take a regular Daoist Dao Fruit for his metamorphosis, regardless, he was set on being promoted.
"Well,"
Tong Yuanzi stroked his long beard, glanced at the sky, and said with a smile, "Certainly, it’s possible. Another Daoist participating in the promotion has also arrived. Please come inside the temple and wait, at most two hours, at least one, and I will lead you both to see the Dao Fruit."