Taiyi Dao Fruit

On one side, it solidifies, on the other, it flows; the hue of scorched earth replaces the golden-red of the magma pool, and an infinitely dreadful aura emerges from the depths of the earth.

"Aooo——"

Another roar resounded, but it was not the howl of the Drought Demon; it was the voice emitted by the Yinglong Dao Fruit. The aura of Yinglong also surged but was suddenly interrupted.

Immediately after, the scorched earth cracked, magma erupted from the underground, a red shadow shot straight up, and the Flame Qi wildly rampaged.

At that moment, Jiang Li leaped down from the tip of the Xuanyuan Sword, head down, feet up, diving like a comet towards the earth.

One rises, the other descends, in opposite directions, finally converging mid-way along the Sword Peak—two enormous and fierce Qi forces collide directly.

"Boom!"

The vigorous Flame Wave swept the surroundings, crashing against the mountainside, leaving behind deep molten marks. Two silhouettes crashed palms in mid-air, and the handprint descending from the heavens met the Flame Palm reaching out from the firelight; surprisingly, neither side prevailed, pausing in mid-air.

A fearsome Qi roiled around Jiang Li, extinguishing Flame Qi upon contact, obliterating airflow to nothingness, while even the palm force of the Drought Demon was continuously worn down by this Qi.

Extremes of destruction, as vast as the mountains and seas.

His Power had entirely surpassed the realm of the fourth-rank, reaching a strength theoretically only obtainable by the third grade, even enough to rival the Drought Demon. If not for the Drought Demon's long years of absorbing Earth Fire Flame Qi below, it might not even match Jiang Li.

After a brief stalemate, Jiang Li's Gang Sha surged all around him, the Qi becoming even more fearsome. In an instant, even the interior of the Heaven and Earth Furnace seemed to darken, and under the crushing force of the Evil Qi, the Drought Demon was actually knocked downward.

She smashed into the magma pool like a red meteor. Where her feet touched, the magma solidified once more, turning into scorched earth, while the Drought Demon revealed her form amidst the flames.

Her figure was gaunt, vaguely revealing female traits. Her simple green clothes, having survived eight hundred years in the Earth Fire without damage, showcased their material. Her long hair draped freely, wildly dancing, frequently catching fire and flashing with light, while beneath the hair lay a scarlet, fierce visage.

The skin all over the Drought Demon's body was crimson, faintly showing signs of desiccation. Her whites of the eyes were also scarlet, encircling pitch-black pupils, resembling a demon.

This was the Drought Demon, possessing the rare dual nature of both God and Monster in her Dao Fruit.

The divine aspect: daughter of the Yellow Emperor, with a celestial maiden's bearing; the monstrous aspect: a drought demon, a calamity-spreader across the world.

God and Monster, difficult to harmonize, yet mutually fulfilling aspects, rendering artifacts and Divine Skills that restrain both God and Monster ineffective against the Drought Demon.

'Moreover, she lacks the zombie trait, making it impossible to counter with anti-demonic items,' Jiang Li judged as he hovered in mid-air, observing through his Heavenly Eye.

The Drought Demon legend of a zombie nature supposedly began during the Qing Dynasty in a former life, which was so late it couldn't even be considered a second act, but a hundred or a thousand acts later, not enough to truly define the Drought Demon. Yet the world is different after all; perhaps in this life, the Drought Demon could indeed have a zombie's nature.

Unfortunately, she did not.

Jiang Li had seen someone who hosted the Zombie Dao Fruit, contained within the Flying Sky Demon of the Nineteen Demons of the Devil God Sect. Since he hadn't noticed a similar trait, it indicated the Drought Demon wasn't akin to a zombie.

Therefore, he would have to abandon thoughts of restraint and engage her with raw power.

His mind resolved, Jiang Li's momentum firmly locked onto the Drought Demon, causing her to emit a deep growl.

She stood on the scorched earth, absorbing the power of the Earth Fire, simultaneously erupting with a burning aura, covering her body with sunset-red, blood-like flames. The surrounding temperature increased rapidly, and Flame Qi surged once again.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, Flame Light exploded, shooting straight towards the heavens, aiming directly at breaking through the Star Domain above.

Though bereft of reason, the Drought Demon still retained the ability to recognize danger, able to perceive where the breakthrough point lay.

However, Jiang Li would not allow her to succeed.

"Jiuli Vast Sky, Crack Sky Mysterious Realm."

He saw Jiang Li's hands clasp together and then part; the destructive All Heaven Divine Sha crisscrossed and shattered the spatial structure. Then, with a twist of his hands, a gigantic pitch-black vortex swiftly formed. The immense power dragged the Flame Qi in, twisting it into the vortex, a storm sweeping through, stirring everything tangible and intangible.

Jiang Li contemplated the "Chi You Three Disks Scripture" and naturally did not forget the "Jiuli Vast Sky Realm Law." This forbidden technique refines the All Heaven Divine Sha, specialized in destruction, allowing manipulation of space to trap, obstruct, and kill enemies. Truly, it is a must-have for travel and murder.

Now, Jiang Li has just condensed the All Heaven Divine Sha and immediately applied this method.

The Jiuli Vast Sky Realm Law divides the space, blocking the flame qi, while Jiang Li pushes back with both hands, causing a vortex to press down from above, directly towards the Drought Demon Ba.

"Roar!"

Seeing the vortex, a solemn expression appeared on the frenzied face of the Drought Demon Ba. Instantly, its arms vibrated, and the most extreme and intense flame qi erupted like a volcano, cracking scorched earth, and connecting with earth fire, resembling a blood-colored sun.

Drought God Palm·Thousand Miles of Barren Land.

The Drought Demon Ba raised its palms to the sky, fiery flames scorching the air, melting through the spatial vortex.

Jiang Li is quite familiar with this move, as Gongsun Qingyue also practiced the Drought God Palm. However, even if Gongsun Qingyue were a hundred times stronger, it couldn't make the palm force possess the terrifying phenomenon in front of them.

Where the flame light passed, everything turned into heat vapor, melting even the spatial vortex.

This move is not only a technique of the Drought God Palm but also contains the divine skills of the Drought Demon Ba.

The divine skill of the Drought Demon Ba·Thousand Miles of Barren Land can transform all earth qi into flame qi and extract earth fire for personal use. When the Drought Demon Ba went mad, it used this divine skill to turn half of Yong Province into barren land, which has yet to fully recover.

The black vortex mixed with red flames, the storm rolled with heat waves. The Drought Demon Ba surged skyward with violent heat waves, and Jiang Li also leapt through the air to attack.

Both sides simultaneously broke through the vortex and heat waves, and neither the chaotic storm nor the extreme heat could affect them.

Drought God Palm·Fire Burning Sky.

Blood-red fiery qi like clouds, changing and surging, layered towards Jiang Li, but Jiang Li blasted it apart with a single palm.

On his palm swirled chaotic hues, the All Heaven Divine Sha shattered light and shadow, making it difficult for others to see its true form. As his palm split, it slashed straight toward the Drought Demon Ba's heavenly spirit.

The ancestors of the Ji Family and the Dinghu Sect sealed the Drought Demon Ba not just because she was a third-grade perfection powerhouse, but because she was of the same clan, making it difficult to kill. But Jiang Li lacks such familial sentiment; many times, he is an emotionless man.

This move, seemingly without much force, yet full of killing intent.

Unfortunately, the Drought Demon Ba did not intend to follow Jiang Li's plans.

Her left hand turned into a claw, flames truly flowed like blood, sticky beyond measure, gripping Jiang Li's wrist, ready to rip his chest with a close claw. Unexpectedly, Jiang Li just shifted his form, instantly shrinking it a hundredfold, breaking free from the Drought Demon Ba's hold, while a fierce light suddenly appeared.

His form changed twice in an instant, returning to normal, grasping the fierce light, revealing the Three-pointed Two-bladed Sword, then stabbing directly, Divine Evil breaking through.

"Boom!"

Under the All Heaven Divine Sha, where the sharpness reached, all was blurred, as if the void turned to chaos. Though the Drought Demon Ba instinctively blocked with her hand, before the Divine Evil and Evil Weapon, her ultimate fierce flame qi was penetrated, the fierce light pierced into her arm, tearing flesh, aiming to penetrate through, striking the head.

However, the Drought Demon Ba simply pulled her hand, allowing the Three-pointed Two-bladed Sword to tear through the arm, gaining freedom, seizing the opportunity to sidestep close, and grab Jiang Li's arm holding the weapon.

Extreme heat erupted from within the Drought Demon Ba, and with Jiang Li's Heavenly Eye observing, he found her blood had turned into flame magma, rolling within.

'Emperor Yan's Blood—how did this life-risking method of the Jiang family get learned by her······'

Moreover, observing her form, the Drought Demon Ba had condensed her blood, perpetually residing in the Emperor Yan's Blood method, transforming her own blood into fierce blood.

No time to think further, the Drought Demon Ba's five fingers exerted fierce force, her claws deeply embedded in Jiang Li's arm, the fierce force and flame qi instantly consuming flesh and bones, ready to tear Jiang Li's arm apart.

But Jiang Li decisively used mysterious skill transformation, his arm suddenly growing dragon scales, in an instant, transforming into a divine dragon, gold-yellow scales resisting the Drought Demon Ba's claw, while the hand had become a dragon's head, biting the Drought Demon Ba's shoulder.

"Boom!"