Taiyi Dao Fruit

"Go!"

He extended a finger, and Chi You's Flag thundered down. The crimson light blazed like a comet, leaving a long flaming tail, flaring in the air like a great red flag. It was as unstoppable as the movement of the Heavenly Dao, like a comet striking the earth, impossible to evade.

"Roar!"

The Drought Demon Ba howled, standing upon scorched earth and facing the heavens, its hands like ghostly claws releasing flame energy that could burn the sky and destroy the earth, meeting the massive star's bombardment head-on.

"Bang!"

At the moment of contact, unmatched flame energy surged, converting the impact of the falling star into a rolling heatwave which, with the Drought Demon Ba's double-handed counter-strike, surged back towards the great star.

This Drought Demon Ba could turn pure force into thermal energy and flames, using it for its own purpose. No wonder Jiang Li's hand transformation into a dragon previously couldn't do anything to her.

But the All Heaven Divine Sha unleashed its full capacity for destruction, even the divine skills of the Drought Demon Ba couldn't melt it.

Moreover, the great star seemed to have endless momentum, with vast Qi mechanisms constantly flowing into it, causing the star's brilliance to expand as it violently pressed downwards.

"Boom——"

The scorched earth shattered, and violent earth fires surged up from below, turning the Drought Demon Ba into a being of flame, scorching the Heaven and Earth Furnace to a bright red.

The ground roared, causing Dinghu to ripple. From outside, one could see the entire artifact pavilion island's height rising, ascending with a rumble, as extreme heat evaporated the lake water, turning the surrounding hundred miles into a misty swamp.

The two elders guarding the Sect noticed the anomaly and hurried over, witnessing the earth's tremors as the island continuously rose, escalating rapidly by dozens of meters. The rolling heatwaves and overwhelming Qi made it difficult for them to approach.

And within the Heaven and Earth Furnace, the rocky walls had already melted, as the Drought Demon Ba raised its hands to the sky, battling the great star. Qi force and flaming flows burst, sweeping in all directions, causing countless fragments to collapse and be melted by the fiery flows.

The rocky material that had wrapped around the Xuanyuan Sword continuously crumbled and melted, with lava flowing, revealing the golden sword body within.

Apart from the Xuanyuan Sword, everything else was destroyed by the shockwave, while the Heaven and Earth Furnace, used by the Dinghu Sect for hundreds of years, was melting and disintegrating. Waves of Qi mechanisms poured into the Drought Demon Ba's body.

Chi You's Flag had endless momentum, but the Drought Demon Ba could draw earth Qi and fire from [Thousand Miles of Barren Land]. Over time, the flame energy exploded in layers, and the Drought Demon Ba roared, managing to withstand Chi You's Flag.

However——

"Heavenly Fall Qiankun."

A leisurely sigh sounded. Behind Chi You's Flag, a vast and majestic giant god emerged, pressing a palm downward, causing space to twist and collapse toward the palm's center.

The filth of heaven and earth transformed into Essence Qi, moving with Jiang Li, as the palm's center revealed a black-and-white Taiji, rotating into a vortex that engulfed both Chi You's Flag and the Drought Demon Ba, heavily collapsing and converging toward the palm.

"Roar!"

The Drought Demon Ba howled frantically, thrashing in the vortex, its furious struggle swelling and compressing the vortex with raging flame Qi. Yet simultaneously, Chi You's Flag swallowed the Drought Demon Ba, and the Military God's Four Weapons, carrying the All Heaven Divine Sha, pressed down, embedding an unfathomable Qi mechanism that formed spectral butterflies reflecting in the Drought Demon Ba's eyes.

Mysterious divine intent penetrated its mind, while the Military God's Four Weapons weighted heavily, assaulting inside and outside, causing the Drought Demon Ba's frenzied figure to gradually solidify within the great star, frozen like an insect trapped in amber, fixed in a frantic yet serene pose.

"Successfully sealed."

Having executed Fatian Xiangdi, Jiang Li clasped the ethereal great star, gazing at the figure within his palm, exhaling gently.

Replacing the Xuanyuan Sword with the Military God's Four Weapons for the sealing was a contingency plan long considered. Jiang Li hadn't anticipated the Drought Demon Ba would escape in such a manner, but the outcome of her escape was indeed within his expectations.

Once the Drought Demon Ba was transferred to another sealing site, the Yinglong Dao Fruit would no longer be needed to counterbalance her.

However, in doing so, assisting the Master of Rain's ascension became impossible.

According to Jiang Li and Tianxuan's original plan, assuming no unexpected events from the Drought Demon Ba, everything would have been prepared for her release, with Jiang Li and Tianxuan assisting the Primordial Lord Rain Master in battling her.

The Drought Demon Ba, albeit at Third Grade Perfection, was mad with frenzy. If she could be separated from the ground and contained within the Star Domain, coupled with the Master of Rain's countering Yinglong Transformation, success was not impossible.

But as fate would have it, even before implementation, this plan fell through.

With this in mind, Jiang Li could only devise another strategy.

He looked upward to see that the domain in the sky was gradually breaking free from the Heaven and Earth Furnace's hold, while a bright moon slowly ascended, leaping into the starry sky as an expansive aura spread infinitely, pervading the world, revealing a dignified figure within the moonlight.

Draped in the stars as a robe, and with the bright moon as a crown, Tianxuan had ascended as the Third Grade Doumu Yuanjun.

Centered on the bright moon, Doumu manipulated the Cycle Stars, and an invisible gravitational force drew the tumultuous Dinghu to eventually calm, with Star Essence spreading in all directions, dissipating the flame Qi, turning the mist into rain, and it fell back into Dinghu.

At the same time, a solemn voice echoed throughout the Sect:

"The Drought Demon Ba has been released but is now resealed. All elders, maintain the Sect's order, and aid the injured."

······

······

"It seems there's no need for this poor Daoist to intervene."

On a mountain peak five hundred miles away, sword light slowly retracted, merging into a sheathed long sword.

The Daoist rested his hand on the sword as the sword momentum dissipated, transforming into a gentle breeze that swept up a few blades of grass at his feet. The grass, like sharp blades, grazed past nearly ten large trees, causing their trunks to split, with branches and leaves swaying and falling to the ground.

"The True Monarch's Sword Qi has grown even more majestic than before. I never thought that within just a year, the True Monarch's cultivation would undergo such a transformation."

Behind the Daoist, golden light appeared, and an ethereal Heavenly Realm manifested, within which a ship-like vertical eye opened, observing this scene with faint admiration, "The Nine Heavens Demon Clearing True Technique, truly an extraordinary skill created by the Daoist Lord."

"If you're curious, you can certainly give it a try." The Daoist said indifferently.

"I'd rather not."

Within the vertical eye, the vague silhouette revealed its outline, and hearing this, laughed, "Even if I acquired this cultivation technique, I couldn't practice it, and it might attract the Daoist Lord. Even now, I still have a deep fear of that [Daoism Rules the World]."

The implication was clear—if he wished to seize it by force, he absolutely could.

The Daoist's eyes grew cold as an invisible Sword Qi was conjured, slashing toward the Heavenly Realm, only to be blocked by a ray of firelight.

The moment the Sword Qi touched the firelight, it was instantly melted. The flame Qi and mysterious Magic Door revealed in that instant made the Daoist secretly wary.

'"Qi Tomb"······ and the aura of Earth Core True Fire. Had he just delved into the earth's core?'

Quietly noting this, Taibai True Monarch's expression remained unchanged as he remarked, "It seems that from the battle a year ago, you've profited quite a bit."

"I gained a little."

The Heavenly Monarch chuckled, "It's no substantial progress. After all, the few of us have nearly reached our limits, and to go further, we must ascend."

As he spoke, the vertical eye gazed straight at the distant starry sky, seemingly able to view the scenery of Dinghu.

"Somewhat unexpected, I thought the Drought Demon Ba could cause a larger disturbance," he remarked with slight surprise, yet without regret, "Junior Sister Tianxuan's and my disciple's changes in power seem remarkable. But this means the great battle must commence, using Tianxuan's ascension exposure as a trigger······"

Tianxuan's ascension to Third Grade and the Drought Demon Ba's suppression were enough as a wake-up call to alert the lurking factions to the threat.

To remain inactive any longer would truly make them like a turtle hiding in its shell.

'Seeing the enemy grow ever stronger, can you still restrain yourself, Immortal Queen?'

He recalled the provocation a year ago.

At that time, the Immortal Queen ignored his provocation and chose to wait. This time, could she still wait?

An opportunity slim as a thread is not the same as having no opportunity at all. The Immortal Queen had a chance before, but as she waits further, her adversaries will grow powerful enough to eliminate what little chance she has.