Taiyi Dao Fruit-Chapter 1137 - 361: Long-Distance Call, Human Path Flood

"Jiang Li."

A lingering voice seemed to come from beyond the heavens, indistinct and ethereal, as if in a dream.

Yet, Jiang Li, who was in Jingzhou, precisely caught this sound, a flow of light flickering between his brows, an imprint appearing, and the power of the Heavenly Mirror pierced through the distance of space, causing Jiang Li's sight to fall upon the source of the voice.

What is deeply remembered will surely echo back.

As long as someone recites Jiang Li's name, he can trace back along the Causality Line. With the Heavenly Mirror, Jiang Li can directly set his sight upon the other side without any delay.

Then a series of scenes were traced back, revealing the meeting between the Daoist Lord and the Holy Infant King, and their dialogue, all perceived by Jiang Li.

The one calling Jiang Li's name was indeed the Daoist Lord, and he didn't resist Jiang Li's gaze, allowing Jiang Li to trace back the previous scenes, which was akin to greeting Jiang Li.

And after knowing the events before and after, Jiang Li naturally wouldn't disagree.

Yin Tulong being able to get promoted is a good thing, even though it will mean more focus on a good disciple, but compared to being promoted to the third grade, it doesn't matter.

Such good things are something other fourth-rank individuals long for. If they could be promoted to the third grade, not to mention one more disciple, even ten would be fine.

'Yin Tulong's promotion means adding more combat power on our side. Additionally, the Daoist Lord actually knows the promotion ceremony of Taiyi True Man and even directly thought of a method...'

'Deeply hidden and unnoticed, Daoist Lord.'

Jiang Li deepened his evaluation of the Daoist Lord while remaining wary about the Daoist Lord appearing in Broken Sky Gorge, Liangzhou Province.

That place is not far from Wushan.

Thinking of this, while Jiang Li was in the middle of tracing, he suddenly heard a voice again.

"Jiang Li."

Someone was chanting his true name.

His sight shifted, piercing through space, capturing the source of the voice, a shadow came into view.

Clad in a black magic robe embroidered with demon patterns, wearing a hood, exposing only part of the face and a strand of snow-white hair hanging down, slowly rolling a string of pitch-black prayer beads in his hand.

This figure, who else could it be if not Karma Tathagata?

Jiang Li had just entered the realm of "what is deeply remembered will surely echo back," Karma Tathagata, far away in Buddha Country, had already known.

"Zhen Ru Layman." Jiang Li also called out the other's true name, allowing the other's perception to trace back along the Causality Line as well.

Clearly separated by an unknown distance, yet this moment seemed as if they were right in front of each other.

"The Yangtze River's waves push forward the waves behind, Jiang Tanyue's realm has already caught up with the Mazer, making the Mazer feel old." Karma Tathagata said with a smile.

"In this pathway, Layman is much more profound than I am. Now, I can only see Layman's back and dare not say I have caught up." Jiang Li shook his head.

Both exchanged mutual compliments, then laughed heartily.

Then, Karma Tathagata didn't drag on, directly proceeded to the main topic, "In Yangzhou, there's a divine intention connecting the heavens and the earth, reaching up to the Nine Heavens, down to the Ten Lands; the Mazer observed from afar and calculated that this is the Heavenly Monarch preparing to ascend."

"Indeed, judging by this trend, in a few days, the Heavenly Monarch will complete the promotion ceremony." Jiang Li nodded.

"Need the Mazer to make a move?" Karma Tathagata asked.

He still had the True Spirit of Bo Xun to suppress and refine, but now he could free his hands.

Bo Xun might have been stronger than Karma Tathagata at his peak, but he ultimately became Karma Tathagata's defeated enemy. And Karma Tathagata was the one who thwarted Tathagata's plan to reincarnate.

In terms of cause and effect, Karma Tathagata now stands above Bo Xun. And the essence of the Dao Fruit is cause and effect, so now Bo Xun only has cause and effect and true spirit left. When cause and effect is defined as below Karma Tathagata, Bo Xun is at a disadvantage.

Though he is the devil thought of all beings and nearly immortal, being immortal doesn't mean being irreplaceable. Now, Karma Tathagata is in the process of replacing Bo Xun.

"If the Layman makes a move, there may be a flaw exposed."

Jiang Li reminded, "I see the Heavenly Monarch seems confident; he evidently doesn't view Layman as a threat. This means he thinks the Layman won't make a move when the time comes."

"Great Sun Tathagata and Shakyamuni Tathagata?" Karma Tathagata said.

"Yes." Jiang Li nodded.

If these two True Spirits revealed themselves, Karma Tathagata would certainly be more inclined to deal with them. Under such circumstances, if Karma Tathagata were to make a move against the Heavenly Monarch, it would make people speculate about the connection between Karma Tathagata and Jiang Li.

Then the illusion of the death of the Awakened might be exposed.

According to Jiang Li's years of experience muddling through, the True Spirits of those two would certainly take advantage of the Heavenly Monarch's promotion to stir things up. Even if they originally didn't show up, upon realizing Karma Tathagata made a move, they would certainly cause trouble while Karma Tathagata was distracted.

Theoretically, to guard against these two, Karma Tathagata wouldn't come to Jingyang Land.

"Indeed, if the Mazer assists, the identity might be exposed."

Karma Tathagata agreed but then shifted the topic, "However, this matter is crucial to Jiang Tanyue, and if necessary, let it be exposed. Jiang Tanyue granted the Mazer the grace of enlightening the path; for some trouble, the Mazer thinks it's worth it."

Hearing this, Jiang Li couldn't feel more touched.

Look, what is an angel investor, and what is a true ally.

Can a Great Venerable achieve this?

As for the Heavenly Monarch, nine out of ten people who became friends with him suffered a shortened lifespan, and the remaining one was already dead.

In this world full of Sixth Brothers, Karma Tathagata is simply the light of the Righteous Path.

Therefore, Jiang Li refused and said, "No need, it's not easy to let the Awakened 'die,' so we can't just let the Awakened 'live' again so easily. The Heavenly Monarch is not worth it."

"It seems that Jiang Tanyue already has confidence in his heart," Karma Tathagata laughed.

"The Heavenly Monarch was prepared, and I, Jiang Li, am not standing still," Jiang Li said, glancing at the Karma Collection, "This time, I have a ten-in-ten certainty."

Jiang Li's response was very much in the style of a sword cultivator.

Seeing Jiang Li so confident, Karma Tathagata decided not to intervene for now. "In that case, the Mazer will just sit by and watch the Heavenly Monarch's defeat... hmm?"

While saying this, Karma Tathagata suddenly raised his head with a hint of surprise, his eyes revealing a starlight as he looked towards a certain direction.

At the same time, Jiang Li also sensed an anomaly occurring on the Buddha Country land.

Now, the Buddha Country is also under Jiang Li's dominion, and if something major happens, he would sense it immediately.

Just like now—

"Great Sun Buddha Light."

Jiang Li spoke out the source of the anomaly, "It seems my previous assumption was wrong. These two have actually taken the initiative to restrain the layman for the Heavenly Monarch."

Jiang Li originally assumed that those two would make a move during the Heavenly Monarch's promotion, even intentionally disclosing the use of the Six Souls Banner against the True Spirit of Jade Emperor. Now, these two are acting before the Heavenly Monarch's promotion, diverting attention and restraining Karma Tathagata.

As a result, theoretically, Karma Tathagata would indeed not take action now.

"Invited by Great Sun Tathagata, the Mazer cannot refuse such kindness. Jiang Tanyue, I wish you success," Karma Tathagata said.

"Thank you."

Jiang Li ended the "long-distance call" with Karma Tathagata, and chuckled to himself, "With this, Karma Tathagata truly cannot act. Heavenly Monarch, you've been cautious to this point. But unfortunately..."

His gaze fell on the Karma Collection.

The pages still displayed the image of the Ochre Whip, with strands of causality lines connecting to Jiang Li.

As the Heavenly Monarch conducted the Promotion Ceremony, Jiang Li was also making his preparations.

He closed himself off temporarily, quietly waiting for the completion of the divine skills.

Time silently passed in the anticipation of both sides, and the completion of the divine skills in the Karma Collection gradually approached fulfillment.

Until this day—

The Dao Fruit shifted, and information about the divine skills changed.

[Primordial Human: All Human Species Dao Fruit Divine Powers are elevated to the third grade; those below the third grade cannot affect oneself.]

The [Primordial Human] divine skill was completed. Although it couldn't elevate the Human Species Dao Fruit Divine Powers to the third grade as completely as Emperor Yan's Tao Fruit, it was sufficient.

With the arrival of this information, an indescribable grand scene appeared before Jiang Li's eyes.

Knots tied to record events, fishing and hunting, creation of text, marriage customs, fire cultivation, Hundred Herbs Scripture, warfare...

Significant events from ancient times to the present unfolded before his eyes, encompassing past wisdom, forming a torrent of the Human Path.

Jiang Li seemed to stand at the starting point of humanities, witnessing its continuous development and exploration in the torrent.

"I see..." Jiang Li suddenly understood.

The [Primordial Human] divine skill has this effect because it represents the origin of human culture. Having it grants a place at the origin, receiving the blessing of human causality, and allows one to comprehend the wisdom of humanity.

The past, present, and future — as long as humanities continue to develop, wisdom will continually accumulate, and the Primordial Human can achieve limitless enhancement.

The [Primordial Human] may not be the most powerful divine skill among the Three Emperors Dao Fruit, but it is undoubtedly the most representative of its status.

Jiang Li gazed from the origin of humanities towards the future, as various insights continuously entered his mind.

Now, he could directly penetrate to the root of the Dao Fruit Divine Skills. For him, the [Primordial Human] is not about simply elevating the levels of divine skills but is a pathway to absorbing past wisdom.

For instance, the Eight Trigrams, throughout history countless people have researched it. They may not be on the same level as Jiang Li, yet their insights into the Eight Trigrams could help fill gaps.

Individual contributions may be small, yet if the timeframe is broadened sufficiently, these small harvests could merge into a vast ocean.

Simultaneously, Jiang Li could feel his Dao Fruit abilities elevating, transforming into divine skills, and advancing further upward.

The wisdom of humanity is immensely vast, like a sea of stars, and Jiang Li cannot possibly encompass it all. Even identifying the suitable wisdom for absorption demands significant heart power. These Dao Fruit abilities are like beacons, actively attracting the corresponding human wisdom and causality to themselves, supplementing and elevating their levels.

Although the elevation is in the level of divine skills rather than the essence of Dao Fruit, and the gain isn't as large as containing third-grade Dao Fruits, the sheer number of divine skills appearing has led Jiang Li to a leap in strength.