Chapter 227: Chapter 222 Still, Senior Sister is Better
In the morning light, Jiang Li followed closely behind Tianxuan and, upon hearing her query, flipped through the Karma Collection to check the fusion progress of the Dao Fruit.
Then, Jiang Li replied, "The Qi Refiner Dao Fruit has a significant affinity with the disciple, and judging by the growth of the Dao Fruit Ability, it should be close to half complete."
Discussing the transformation of Essence Qi with Zhang Daoyi and comprehending the "Qi Tomb," realizing the application of the eight qi... With all these things taken together, Jiang Li hadn’t done anything too tricky, yet the deduction of the Qi Refiner Dao Fruit was already nearing halfway.
Upon hearing this, Elder Tianxuan nodded slightly, "That’s as expected. Ji Chengye, after all, had encompassed a Uniqueness Dao Fruit; no matter how unimpressive, he’s still not someone that ordinary Seventh Rank can deal with. Your victory over him speaks volumes about your harmony with the Qi Refiner Dao Fruit."
Unlike Yuan Zhen and Hui Lun, Elder Tianxuan knew about Jiang Li’s Dao Fruit choice, so she didn’t think he had housed any kind of Uniqueness Dao Fruit, thus there was no misjudgment at present.
This allowed Jiang Li to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
Elder Tianxuan herself knew that Jiang Li had received an ordinary Dao Fruit, and she was also clear about his promotion process; she already knew the answer. In this situation, if she could still escape the misguidance of the fixed answer and perceive that Jiang Li had harbored a Uniqueness Dao Fruit, Jiang Li really wouldn’t know what he could keep hidden from her.
Perhaps even some of the little schemes in his heart had been seen through.
’Wait, the harsh words she spoke before, could it be that she has guessed my thoughts, or was it a warning...’
Those who are suspicious always think too much, and Jiang Li now seemed to be tending toward becoming another Yuan Zhen, hampered by numerous concerns.
There’s no helping it, the pressure given by his master is simply too great.
Even though Jiang Li had been a man of two worlds, in terms of cunning, he wouldn’t dare to claim that he could certainly outplay her.
Fortunately, he was currently in the Wise Man’s Heart state, and even with doubts in his heart, he did not show them, lest he truly become another Yuan Zhen, upsetting everything without actually being exposed.
While Jiang Li was deep in thought, Elder Tianxuan continued to ask, "The Qi Refiner Dao Fruit’s ’Unity of Heaven and Man’ has quite a significant drawback, how do you feel now?"
"I can bear it," replied Jiang Li, immediately regaining focus.
"But once you reach Sixth Rank, your sensitivity to heaven and earth will deepen further..."
After a brief pause, Elder Tianxuan continued, "Your next choice of Dao Fruit should focus on the cultivation of mental state, but such Dao Fruits are mostly of the immortal and Buddha category, which would be disadvantageous for your future control of the Ochre Whip. Your best choice would be to continue with Human Attribute; second best would be Divine Attribute."
The higher one climbs, the fewer the choices for Dao Fruit, especially for the Human Species, where the situation is most severe.
At low grades, there are many types of Human Attribute Dao Fruits available, but at higher grades, there are far fewer Human Attribute Dao Fruits than other categories.
Fortunately, the greatest feature of the Human Attribute Dao Fruits is the ease of switching paths, which alleviates some of the concerns for cultivators who choose Human Attribute Dao Fruits.
If the characteristic of the Ghost Path is that it can transform into all paths, then the characteristic of the Human Path is that it can transform into any path. The versatility of the Human Attribute Dao Fruits is the strongest. Like in the Mystic Sect, Human Attribute Dao Fruit practitioners generally switch to the Immortal or Divine paths at the Sixth or Fifth Rank.
The problem is, there are two types of Human Attribute Dao Fruits available in the Dinghu Sect. One is without mental state empowerment, and the other is with mental state empowerment but biased toward the Immortal path, and basically, after choosing this kind of Dao Fruit, it’s best to switch to the Immortal Species.
For example, my second senior brother, Feng Ziyang, he contained a Sword Immortal Dao Fruit at Sixth Rank, and it’s highly likely that he will later convert to cultivating the Immortal Path.
The most suitable for Jiang Li are actually Human and Divine Attributes, as Emperor Yan’s Dao Fruit is of these two characteristics.
Although he has the Karma Collection for transforming Dao Fruits, it is still predominantly based on the original framework; for instance, a Sword Immortal Dao Fruit, no matter how it transforms, will still have Sword Immortal as a prefix and won’t change into Sword Human or Sword God.
However, this issue is only related to the Dinghu Sect.
"Surely there should be a suitable Dao Fruit on the court’s side?" Jiang Li tentatively asked.
Speaking of a third or fourth grade, and also a Dao Fruit matching Jiang Li, it would be hard to find, but speaking of Sixth Rank, there definitely is one in the court.
"Indeed, the court possessing the Nine Provinces, even the rarest Dao Fruits are to be found," confirmed Elder Tianxuan, as her veiled, indistinctly charming face showed a hint of an inscrutable expression, "But to get a Sixth Grade Dao Fruit from the court, you first have to get past a difficult barrier."
"What kind of barrier?"
"An old woman who likes young meat."
Elder Tianxuan’s eyes, lively and deep, seemed to imply something, "There’s a hint of the Fire Phoenix qi in your destiny; seems like you’ve established a connection with that old woman."
Old woman? Likes young meat?
Jiang Li brainstormed frantically, and an image flashed through his mind.
Feng Manlou!
’That old woman, could it be that she’s the Princess?’
Arriving at this conclusion, Jiang Li finally understood why Elder Tianxuan was admonishing him.
It seems she believed he had connections with the Princess’s side.
Even the discussion about future Dao Fruit choices was to bring up this topic.
Jiang Li thought this through and felt exhausted.
If you want to know, just ask directly, am I really going to dare to deceive my mentor?
Why does it have to be so roundabout and startling for Jiang Li.
"Still, Senior Sister is the best."
Such a sentiment arose again in his heart, but outwardly, Jiang Li showed hesitation and said, "Is Master referring to the Princess? If it’s her, then this disciple has a plan that might just get us through this difficulty."
"Oh?" Elder Tianxuan said indifferently, "What’s the plan?"
In all honesty, this disciple, by a fortunate turn of events, became sworn brothers with the husband of the Princess, Feng Manlou, forming a bond beyond blood relations..."
Just like this, just so, Jiang Li made slight alterations to the events of that day as he reported them to Elder Tianxuan, emphasizing that he wasn’t seeking this relationship but that Feng Manlou was insistent on connecting with him, addressing him as "worthy brother."
Elder Tianxuan listened quietly, her gaze and facial expression unchanged, showcasing a state of mind as serene as still waters and a very high level of cultivation, not once betraying her composure even upon hearing such good news.
The morning breeze, not known when, became joyful, and the grass and trees on the brink of death seemed to burst with new life as if spring had returned to dead wood.
Her mood was influencing reality.
When Jiang Li finished speaking, Elder Tianxuan finally showed a slight curve at the corners of her mouth, praising him, "Well done! You’ve done very well!"
Getting a hold on her old rival’s weakness was indeed the best news Elder Tianxuan had received on this trip. From now on, Ji Lingguang would always be a step below her.
Elder Tianxuan was pleased.
Seeing Master’s delighted phoenix-like demeanor, Jiang Li also felt relieved.
With this response, Jiang Li let his Master know that no one had undermined her teaching, pleasing her as well as putting himself at ease.
It’s just that he had to wrong his good big brother a bit.
But since they were brothers, for the safety of his brother, a little suffering, he reasoned, would likely not draw complaints from his big brother.
After a short while, the surrounding environment returned to calm, and the brisk wind stopped, indicating that Elder Tianxuan’s state of mind had stabilized.
"For praying for rain in Fufeng County, defeating Yang Ji of the Taiping Sect, and afterward seizing the Ghost Gate after the death of Lu King Ji Ye..."
Elder Tianxuan spoke, and taking out an ancient compass from her sleeve, she said, "With such merit, a reward cannot be omitted. After returning to the Sect, you may visit the secret place again and cultivate with the Ochre Whip for a period, and furthermore, I will impart to you another method. However, if you want to acquire the method, you must hand over the Ghost Gate."
Elder Tianxuan looked towards the gate behind Jiang Li.
"The disciple understands that the Sect will not let down those who have contributed. As for this Ghost Gate, it was always the disciple’s intention to offer it up to the Sect," Jiang Li immediately responded.
He knew he couldn’t keep the news about the Ghost Gate to himself, and with his current realm, he couldn’t hold onto it either. Offering up the Ghost Gate to the Sect in exchange for rewards was Jiang Li’s original plan.
Because the Ghost Gate didn’t resonate strongly with him.
[Fourth Grade Dao Fruit: King Yanluo]
[Category: Ghost, Divine Attribute]
[Fitting Conditions: Fifth Grade Dao Fruit, Yin Soul Body]
[Promotion Ceremony: Suppress the Ten Thousand Ghosts single-handedly, compelling their worship]
[Divine Skills: Ten Halls of Yama, Lord of Hell, Resurrection, Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil, Entering and Leaving Netherworld, Looking Back to Homeplace]
The main ability that could be used from the Ghost Gate was [Entering and Leaving Netherworld], which allowed entry to the Netherworld from any place, but—
Only with a soul body.
If Jiang Li possessed a Yin Soul Body, then he could enter the underworld from anywhere, using it as a hub before returning to the Yang World; regrettably, he wasn’t such a being.
If he used the Ghost Gate, his soul would enter, but his body would remain, and in the underworld, who knows what dangers he might encounter? Thus, in Jiang Li’s hands, the Ghost Gate could only serve as an item of exchange.
However, Jiang Li played a clever trick here, saying that the Sect wouldn’t let him down, meaning that he expected to receive something of equivalent value.
"You won’t suffer a loss."
Elder Tianxuan spoke playfully, lifting the compass in her hand and saying, "I once told you that I control the Sect’s Strange Gate Divine Chapter, the Dragon Armor Divine Chapter. What I’m about to impart to you is the Wind Queen’ Strange Gate from within the Dragon Armor Divine Chapter."
The ancient compass appeared to be made of stone, dull and unimpressive, bearing the marks of many years.
The compass had a total of five layers, with a Taiji symbol at its center, followed by the figures of Xuanwu, Six Harmonies, Taiyin, and the Eight Gods, further out were the nine stars, beyond the nine stars were the Eight Gates of Open, Xiu, Life, Death, Jing, Shang, Du, and Jing, and the outermost layer featured divination shapes, with obscure patterns within each.
"This is the Wind Queen Compass, which once carried the Wind Queen Dao Fruit, an artifact I used in my earlier years. The Wind Queen’s Strange Gate is within it; now listen carefully."
"During the Jiazi Xun, do not engage with Xu and Hai, as Xu and Hai are solitary; Chen and Si are empty..."
Elder Tianxuan uttered a series of cryptic mental methods, instructing Jiang Li to circulate them and then infuse true Qi into the compass, which then began to rotate on its own, continuously evolving.
As Jiang Li operated the mental method and looked at the compass, a complex array of information spontaneously surged into his mind, various figures and characters seeming to burst through his Sea of Consciousness, triggering the injury there.
"Has your Divine Soul been injured?"
Elder Tianxuan, noticing his condition, frowned slightly. In an instant, she was in front of Jiang Li, a cool touch appearing at his brow.