Taiyi Dao Fruit-Chapter 1095 - 323: Jiang Li Faces the Great Venerable

"This is truly—"

The Great Venerable watched as the Princess departed, his gaze falling on Jiang Li, "It's somewhat emotionally unsettling."

"If it were Feng Manlou, it could be called emotional, but with the Great Venerable, it's a bit hypocritical," Jiang Li said indifferently.

Perhaps there was still some emotion in the Great Venerable's heart, but Jiang Li believed that it was for the Feng family, not for sworn brothers or the Princess.

He had lived through countless eons, with the identity of the Feng family always accompanying him. Jiang Li and the Princess were but fleeting guests in the Great Venerable's long life, not even close to being guests.

Because the connection between them was Feng Manlou, a phantom of the past.

It was likely because she realized this that the Princess left so decisively.

What she wanted, she had already obtained.

It could even be said that when the Great Venerable manipulated the Princess's psychology to draw her in, she had already gotten what she wanted. The rest was just proceeding according to Jiang Li's plan.

Simply put, the burdened heart finally found peace.

Therefore, the Princess left without hesitation, making the most appropriate choice. Her strength was admittedly formidable, but if she were to face the Great Venerable, she would have little chance to counterattack.

The Cosmic Light Divine Ability was simply too unreasonable.

"It seems you're planning to leave me here," the Great Venerable understood Jiang Li's implication and said leisurely.

"Who called the Great Venerable the world's number one troublemaker."

Jiang Li chuckled lightly and said, "With you around, I have to be more cautious even if I want to deal with the Heavenly Monarch. Likewise, the Heavenly Monarch won't act rashly due to his concerns. So, could the Great Venerable fulfill this small wish of mine?"

The Great Venerable already saw himself as opposing Jiang Li, so Jiang Li would undoubtedly aim to eliminate this unfavorable factor.

On the side of the Heavenly Monarch, he would indeed borrow the Great Venerable's power, but for the Great Venerable, he would also be highly vigilant.

After all, who called them close companions in the Buddhist Country before, sharing a deep bond?

This refers to when the Heavenly Monarch used the Immortal-Slaying Flying Saber to cut off the Great Venerable's head, and the Great Venerable took the Heavenly Monarch's heart and lungs.

With such a bond, it's not excessive for both sides to be wary of each other. That's why, despite being uncertain about the Dragon Palace's affiliation, the Heavenly Monarch resorted to such measures.

In the end, although it seemed that Jiang Li and the Heavenly Monarch were going to decide between life and death and measure their strength, it was the Great Venerable who acted first.

"Truly estranged, really estranged."

The Great Venerable shook his head, "Now that you've become the Emperor, exalted and supreme, you've grown to despise your elder brother. We've met for so long, and you don't even want to call me brother."

Though he said this, as the confrontation between the two became inevitable, invisible ripples spread out, and the cosmic light subtly changed.

For the Great Venerable, though the world is vast, it's like a mere corner, and while the cosmic light divine ability is ineffective against the supreme, if he wanted to come and go, aside from the Daoist Lord and the newly promoted Second Grade Karma Tathagata, no one else could stop him in this world.

However—

The invisible ripples collided with tangible mountains, and suddenly great mountains appeared everywhere, seemingly real, blocking the ripples of cosmic light.

The fluctuations of space also appeared simultaneously but couldn't penetrate the mountains to reach another layer of space.

Before he knew it, the area within a hundred miles became a cage, and in the Great Venerable's perception, the surrounding world had an edge, becoming an independent world.

Seemingly because of an impact, the mountains that appeared out of nowhere had a moment of illusion, like real mountains turned into a landscape painting.

"Map of Mountains and Rivers."

The Great Venerable's voice turned low, "When did this happen?"

How could he not recognize the Map of Mountains and Rivers?

After all, it was the great treasure of the Feng family.

Now that the Map of Mountains and Rivers envelops the area within a hundred miles, no matter how much he manipulates the cosmic light, without breaking this space, he cannot escape.

However, this Map of Mountains and Rivers doesn't seem as powerful as he knows. Based on what the Great Venerable knows, when the Map of Mountains and Rivers is unfurled, its internal space is vast beyond measure, and even he wouldn't easily notice his entrapment within it.

At the same time he perceived the anomaly, the Great Venerable decisively changed his tactics, the cosmic light ripples turning tangible, and the world seemed to split into hundreds of scenarios.

The flow of time was divided, some fast, some slow, with some regions spanning a thousand days in an instant, while others slowed down a thousandfold.

Back then, this very move severely injured Lingxuzi, with dozens of different time flows imposed on him, almost causing the Sect Leader of the Upper Pure Sect to be torn apart on the spot.

If the Heavenly Monarch hadn't intervened in time, Lingxuzi would have met his end in the Buddhist Country.

However, chaos in cosmic light that could heavily wound Lingxuzi couldn't shake Jiang Li's form.

Under the suppression of formidable power, even the Cosmic Light Divine Ability could be resisted. This is the simplest and direct method to counter it. Back then, among the Six Great Powers' mutual restraint, the one restraining the Great Venerable was the Emperor, whose strength spanning the Nine Provinces negated the Great Venerable's Cosmic Light Divine Ability entirely.

Now with Jiang Li as the newly crowned Emperor, though not with the world's greatest power, his strength is certainly formidable, capable of countering such direct temporal chaos.

Though Jiang Li wasn't affected by the chaotic time flows, the perceptual overload from numerous directions resulted in a torrent of information.

In that moment, the world seemed to shatter into hundreds of pieces, with the Great Venerable's silhouette appearing in every "fragment."

"Kamishan Object."

High and low intermingling, the imagery of objects.

Yin and Yang, Five Elements emerged from all directions, Qi mechanisms interlinked, each "fragment" of the Great Venerable appearing genuine.

In an instant, the resonance of Yin and Yang Five Elements shattered all elements into colorful dust.

Compared to this move, Guanyin's Separation and Union Divine Light seemed lacking.

Yet—

"Taiji Heavenly Wheel."

Jiang Li invoked the Heavenly Decree, and the Heavenly Wheel rose behind him, operating naturally, opposing in Qi.

Yin and Yang Five Elements resonated, dissolving matter in an instant, manifesting a plethora of Qi variations. So too did the Taiji Heavenly Wheel follow, countering with opposing Primordial Qi.

Jiang Li integrated his Qi Dao skill and the [Emperor Emerges from Zhen] Divine Ability, constructing a defense capable of countering the myriad Qi forces.

The synchronized assault was intercepted, with the various speeding cosmic lights turned like flood dragons, streaming like rivers toward Jiang Li, dragging the Great Venerable's incarnations along.

But simultaneously, Jiang Li, in the Great Venerable's eyes, similarly underwent a transformation, previously seeing diverse sides of his silhouette, now perceiving identical fronts.

"Buzz!"

The space within the Map of Mountains and Rivers vibrated. Because of the Taiji Heavenly Wheel's counteraction, the Great Venerable resorted to close combat tactics. Hundreds of attacking incarnations from all sides executed diverse techniques.

Yet all were confronted head-on by Jiang Li.

The space seemed divided into hundreds, as if Jiang Li too was fragmented into a hundred, facing different directions but superposed together.

This extreme contradiction embodied a harmonious perfection, revealing the world's most flawless form.

The Yellow Emperor's Four Faces!

No matter the direction of attack, only Jiang Li's front could be seen, facing Jiang Li's full power regardless of the multitude of synchronized attacks.

Yin and Yang Five Elements were ineffective, close combat, equally futile!

Punch for punch, palm for palm, countering with the same techniques; the instant clash caused space to ripple a hundred times, converging into one, then exploding outward.

Where the ripple reached, all matter and Primordial Qi were annihilated, the stony shore beneath turning into particles, swirling like countless sands with the ripple's motion, the incarnations of the Great Venerable simultaneously destabilized, signaling impending collapse.

All manifestations were under Jiang Li's insight, above and below, within the Six Harmonies, all spaces surrounded by perception.

Amidst the countless incarnations, Jiang Li locked onto the singular entity, and Taisu Qi surged forth in an instant.