It was as if there was an added God-like perspective, torrentially overseeing everything from a high vantage point, unbound by the physical body, unfettered by the range of sight.

Wherever his perception reached, all things were transparent. Jiang Li could even see the insects within the walls, the soil underground, and even Tianxuan...

Well, that he couldn't see through.

Even though he could use his abundant experience and exceptional eye power to calculate and deduce Tianxuan's figure, if he wanted to directly see through her, Jiang Li still couldn't do it, nor did he dare to try.

Who knew whether this old demon could detect his snooping.

"This fragment contains a world of its own. You can store your True Qi in it for later use, or hide inside in urgent moments. Even if escape is impossible, you can still delay temporarily, waiting for your teacher's rescue," said Tianxuan, with a touch of regret in her voice. "It's a pity the fragment is too small. Its space can at most contain fifth-rank power, otherwise I could have connected it to the Ghost Gate to ensure your safety."

When it came to exploiting loopholes, wanting both this and that, Tianxuan was a professional.

She herself possessed the third-grade power within a fourth-rank Realm, making her an unrestricted top-tier expert. Now, naturally, she wished to secure an advantage for her disciple. After promoting to fifth-rank, he could no longer harness fourth-rank killing moves, but a fourth-rank Primordial Spirit could communicate at any time.

Thus, Jiang Li would always be carried by his teacher, protected thoroughly at all times and places.

Whenever the teacher wished to see his disciple, she could also come through the Ghost Gate across the void, to express the affection between master and disciple.

Sadly, the fragment's endurance had its limits, just like before when it could take in fourth-rank Dao Artifacts, such as the Divine Farmer's Cauldron. It was possible, but if the Divine Farmer's Cauldron were to erupt with power, the fragment truly wouldn't be able to withstand it.

Similarly, the fourth-grade Dao Artifact, the Ghost Gate, couldn't communicate with it either, making it impossible for the Ghost Gate to fully open within the fragment and for Tianxuan's Primordial Spirit to descend.

However, it was exactly because of these limits that Jiang Li hadn't faced Yun Fei, a fourth-grade expert, head-on from the start.

"Being capable of avoiding interception even from a fourth-grade is already not bad," Jiang Li reflected on his past encounters and couldn't help but sigh.

Even with a fourth-rank guarding him, he was still captured. Had it not been for Elder Tianpeng's relentless pursuit and the hidden intentions of Kunxu Immortal Palace, Jiang Li really would have been done for this time.

Although, looking at his current state, it wasn't much different from having fallen...

"After all, it's a fragment of the Heavenly Mirror," a hint of a smile finally appeared in Tianxuan's eyes. "In the past, Kaixiang was taken by the West Beauty Mirror, and it took us chasing him for thirteen hundred miles to finally rescue him."

"Thirteen hundred miles, that's no short distance. Elder Kaixiang didn't suffer any loss, did he?" Jiang Li also commented with a smile.

If Elder Kaixiang was of no use, that time would have been enough for harvesting replenishments once or even several times.

"I wouldn't know..." said Tianxuan, her words trailing off as her smile suddenly vanished.

Then, a distinct Qi Mechanism approached, belonging to Elder Tianpeng.

"Tianxuan," Elder Tianpeng's voice carried a tinge of embarrassment, "Kaixiang has returned."

Elder Kaixiang, missing for nearly two days, had finally come back.

Tianxuan's Phoenix Eyes flickered, her sparkling pupils seeming to condense aeons of unyielding coldness. "Good timing, I too would like to ask how it feels to fall into Kunxu Immortal Palace's hands once again?"

If it weren't for Kaixiang's downfall, with his and Elder Tianpeng's strength, even a sudden incident wouldn't have allowed Yun Fei to succeed so easily.

If Kunxu Immortal Palace's agenda were realized, then Elder Kaixiang would be the greatest culprit.

Tianxuan lightly brushed her sleeve, laying down layers of starlight that laid out dense restrictions all around. Then she moved with the grace of a lotus step, directly traversing space, shifting outside the room to meet this culprit-in-waiting, Elder Kaixiang.

At the same time, she was also intent on discovering anyone else involved.

Thinking this, the chill on Tianxuan's body appeared to solidify into substance.

"It seems the teacher suspects the involvement of Big Brother and Fifth Brother," Jiang Li deduced Tianxuan's suspicion from her posture.

Indeed, having trapped Elder Kaixiang for so long, yet allowing him to return unscathed, clearly showed that there was no intense conflict. Otherwise, with Elder Kaixiang's temper, he surely wouldn't be without injuries.

Thus, the likelihood of a martial clash was small, while the possibility of trickery might be significant.

And when it came to schemes, the best targets would naturally be Yun Jiuye and Ling Wujue, especially the latter. Being sixth-rank, he could not be easier to deal with.

'If indeed it involves you, then I cannot leave you be.'

Jiang Li's eyelids lowered slightly, hiding the deep light within his eyes.

He opened his right hand, and a blue butterfly emerged from his sleeve, fluttering gracefully onto his fingertip. As the butterfly's wings beat, dreamlike luminescence scattered.

"Are you also getting impatient?" Jiang Li whispered softly.

"Fifth Grade Dao Fruit: Great Grandmaster Zhuang Zhou"

"Category: Human"

"Fitting Conditions: Sixth Grade Human Attribute Dao Fruit, Mental State of Unity of Heaven and Man"

"Promotion Ceremony: Zhuang Zhou's Dream Butterfly, Outer Object Transformation"

"Divine Skills: Dream Butterfly, Qi Wu Three Melodies, Great Grandmaster, Heavenly Dao Wuwei"

Having reached Sixth Grade Dao Fruit Perfection and meeting the fitting conditions, Jiang Li could already sense the resonance between the Dao Fruit within him and himself. He merely needed to entertain the thought, to proceed with the Zhuang Zhou Dao Fruit Promotion Ceremony.

With the foundation, Realm, and power of this grandmaster of Daoism, once Jiang Li was promoted and supplemented other aspects of his Dao Fruit with Karma Collection, he wouldn't exactly soar to the heavens in one step, but he would certainly be beyond comparison to his current self.

For any cultivator, reaching the fifth-rank was a transformational Realm, and that included Jiang Li.

"Very soon," Jiang Li said to himself.

His injuries had not affected his meridians, nor had they damaged his Divine Soul. Although serious, they were not difficult to deal with for Jiang Li, who had the support of the Gongsun Family and was well-versed in the properties of a Hundred Herbs.

Not to mention anything else, just that one Yellow Dragon Pill would be enough to help Jiang Li gradually recover, let alone with Tianxuan herself assisting with energy cultivation.

What Jiang Li should be worried about now was whether he could get through the Promotion Ceremony and how many of Zhuang Zhou's Dao Fruits his 'fishing' for cause and effect could reach.

'According to information provided by Mo Sect, the ascension to Zhuang Zhou Dao Fruit requires a mental refinement. Those who fail risk loss of soul...'

This Dao Fruit had always been in the hands of Mo Sect, and of course, the Mo Sect's people had tried it, but none had succeeded.

All the failures resulted in a loss of volition and a drop in consciousness. Although the Divine Soul remained, consciousness was lost, akin to a vegetative state. According to Jiang Li's understanding, that was precisely it.

This was the risk involved in Dao Fruit ascension. If one succeeded, all was well; if one failed, they would suffer different degrees of trauma depending on the Promotion Ceremony. The lower four grades were manageable, but the Fifth Grade and above were increasingly perilous and difficult—almost none were simple.

And among them, a promotion ceremony like Zhuang Zhou Dao Fruit's that involves the mind was one of the most troublesome.

However, with Jiang Li's Pure Yang Daoist Heart, his probability of successful promotion was not small.

'Once the injury improves and my mind recovers, I'll proceed with the promotion. As for now—'

Jiang Li raised his finger, and the Blue Butterfly gently rose, passing through restrictions as if it was an illusion, and flew out of the house.

At this moment, the sky outside was as gloomy as last night, where one could hardly see their own fingers. Wuzhiqi was still not giving up, even though he had failed in his attack last night, not having even passed the "Fish Mouth" barrier.

Even now, Wuzhiqi was at a disadvantage.

With Tianxuan's presence, Wuzhiqi's chances of winning shrank further. Just looking at the cloudy but rainless skies tonight, it was apparent that Wuzhiqi was not in a good situation.

By contrast, the citizens of Jun City finally breathed a sigh of relief; lights were lit in the night, and pedestrians could be seen on the streets once more.

The Blue Butterfly flew out of the mansion, drifting along, passed two streets, and landed on the wall of an alley.

In the dark and damp alley, three beggars huddled in a corner, shivering, seemingly trying to warm each other.

But when the Blue Butterfly materialized, the three beggars' faces stiffened simultaneously, their eyes glazed over like puppets as they stared at the suddenly appearing butterfly.

"Heluo God, since you have come, why hide?" came Jiang Li's voice from the Blue Butterfly.

The three beggars' facial muscles twitched at the same time, and pupils in all three sets of eyes uniformly turned vertical, like those of a venomous snake. They said in unison, "How did you discover me?"

The Heluo God had been prowling through the Nine Provinces for many years, protected by a Great Venerable and with his own exquisite blood and flesh transformative techniques. He had never been discovered until now, when Jiang Li pinpointed him without hesitation.

Although it was just a small incarnation that appeared here, it sufficed to show the extent of Jiang Li's capabilities.

At least when he infiltrated Dinghu Sect earlier, he had not been directly exposed.

"Of course, I figured it out," Jiang Li said with a light chuckle.

A fragment of the Heavenly Mirror had merged into the Mud Ball Palace, becoming one with Jiang Li's Divine Sense. At this moment, a crack formed between his brows, a pure radiance circulated within, like the opening of the Heavenly Eye, allowing him to see through these three beggars' bodies, even their internal flesh and blood.

Unfortunately, it seemed the Heluo God did not believe this.

"Remarkable skill, I admire you," they said in unison, still together in tone, staring directly at the Blue Butterfly, "Now, you should reveal what you want?"

Jiang Li had previously discovered the Heluo God's trail and used it as leverage for blackmail. The two sides were originally set to officially meet at midnight yesterday, but an unexpected incident occurred, and now they had to communicate in this manner.

"I just want to know, why were you looking for the Drought Demon Ba?"

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