Chapter 226: Chapter 221: High Rank Old Demon
Jiang Li, carrying Ghost Gate, fled overnight and eventually returned to his loyal Jiang Family before dawn.
At that time, just as dawn was breaking, although Jiang Li had traveled through the night using Void Wind, the big battle had deeply depleted his True Qi. When he landed, his Qi mechanism was in disarray, and there was a faint pain in his Sea of Consciousness.
He still chose to restore his True Qi in the outer woods, tidied up his attire, and then, using Innate Qi to form a Dragon Claw, carried the Ghost Gate behind him. With that, he calmly walked towards the ancestral valley.
It seemed that the Ghost Gate involved space, and even a storage magic tool could not contain it. Fortunately, Jiang Li could externalize the Dragon Claw; otherwise, he would have had to carry it in a less dignified manner.
As he neared the entrance of the ancestral valley, the rising sun cast a glowing, reddish light on an exquisitely graceful figure whose contours undulated like mountains and rivers. Her long, moon-white gown stretched to the ground, exuding both nobility and a chill air.
She stood in the sunlight, yet she resembled the unapproachable Guanghan Fairy.
Seeing this, Jiang Li smiled slightly and approached with his hands behind his back.
At that moment, the figure seemed to be admiring the rising sun. Facing sideways, Jiang Li saw her side profile in the sun—both dreamy and distant, unreal somehow. Her striking pectoral muscles sharply contoured as if they were lofty, insurmountable peaks...
Insurmountable?
Jiang Li focused his eyes, and relevant data automatically appeared from the Karma Collection, along with a line of text.
[Fake, padded.]
Stars, stems and branches, and the Eight Trigrams flashed in his eyes. With clarity uninfluenced by the sunlight, he finally saw that side profile clearly.
Jiang Li’s expression changed, showing a mix of surprise, bewilderment, and four parts respect. He stepped forward and greeted, "I pay my respects to Master."
The infinitely beautiful but slightly watered-down figure slowly turned around. A stunningly beautiful face sported a smile that was not quite a smile—who could it be if not Elder Tianxuan?
His master from the distant Dinghu Sect had somehow arrived here unannounced, taking the place of his senior sister, and without wearing her usual grand palace outfit or a veil, almost causing Jiang Li to mistake her for someone else.
Fortunately, his exceptional eye power and recognition of the true body through her chest prevented laughing stock.
"Truly, ’a scholar does not look the same for three days.’ How long has it been, not even a month? And yet you made your proud, unyielding senior sister stand here all night waiting for you. But, disciple, you are somewhat lacking in boldness," Elder Tianxuan said with a light laugh.
"You almost walked straight into Qing Yue’s heart, still timid and hesitant, and it seems you might not even have held hands. I expected you to embrace her directly."
Hiss—
Jiang Li almost couldn’t help drawing a cold breath.
What a daunting statement, what potent flirtation abilities, far surpassing the ineffective opportunities offered by Gongsun Qingyue; the Old Demon’s skill level was more than ten levels higher.
"I dare not," Jiang Li replied reverently, switching to the Mental State of a Sage.
"That’s why you can still stand here properly and not have your legs broken by your master."
Elder Tianxuan, smiling, spoke these hair-raising words as a gentle moonlight appeared on her body, masking half of her beautiful face with a thin veil.
’Taiyin Ju Zi, Water Clearing Gui E?’
Jiang Li felt a bit of toothache.
Although there was no manifestation of Taiyin, Jiang Li was all too familiar with this aura—it was indeed "Taiyin Ju Zi, Water Clearing Gui E."
Had he really mistaken her identity and embraced her, he would have been frozen by the Taiyin Energy into an ice statue as punishment.
"If you recognized Elder Tianxuan’s true body and pretended not to know, and approached her, it would be even worse; she’d break your legs right on the spot."
Elder Tianxuan said this because she obviously knew that Jiang Li had recognized her at that moment, and the gap in their realms gave her far greater insight than Jiang Li, and her means of dealing with Jiang Li were much superior to those of Gongsun Qingyue.
She easily gave a warning as Elder Tianxuan said, "Your senior sister just saw me arriving and mistook me for you. She thought you had come back, but as she got closer, she realized it was me and, embarrassed, fled. She is now watching us from a good half a mile away."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Li looked towards the valley and indeed saw a familiar Qi passing through.
Although Gongsun Qingyue escaped quickly, her Qi could not be completely concealed and was seen by Jiang Li.
Then, Jiang Li looked back at Elder Tianxuan.
This figure, this demeanor, this attire—unless Gongsun Qingyue was blind, she would never mistake her identity.
If Elder Tianxuan hadn’t used illusionary techniques to influence Gongsun Qingyue, Jiang Li would eat the Ghost Gate behind him.
Upon reflection, he realized that he had almost mistaken her for someone else, likely influenced psychologically as well. Otherwise, even without using Qi Observation Skill, Jiang Li’s vision shouldn’t have been affected by the sunlight.
Using illusionary techniques to make Gongsun Qingyue misidentify her as Jiang Li, and trying to make Jiang Li misidentify her as Gongsun Qingyue... it meant Jiang Li couldn’t overpower her, otherwise he would have approached her directly just now.
Want to impersonate someone? I’ll let you have your fill of impersonation.
’Senior sister is still the best,’ Jiang Li thought to himself.
The master is too high-ranking; it’s easier to get along with a lower-ranking senior sister.
Thinking this, Jiang Li became even more respectful, determined not to give his master a hard time. He respectfully said, "Master, you have traveled from afar, please allow your disciple to show some hospitality."
"No, it’s not suitable for me to enter the Jiang family’s ancestral lands."
Elder Tianxuan gently shook her head, "Let’s just walk outside together."
Her gaze swept over the Ghost Gate behind Jiang Li, seemingly asking casually, "Ji Ye is dead?"
Ji Ye?
Jiang Li noticed where Elder Tianxuan was looking, and understanding dawned on him. He replied, "King Lu tried to advance recklessly, first hindered by the Demon God Sect’s Heluo God and the White Lotus Saint Mother from Buddha Country, followed by a high monk from the Buddhist realm purifying the Yin Ming Qi, and finally attacked by a manifestation of Heluo God surrounded by the Soul Devoured by Ten Thousand Ghosts, leading to his death."
"A manifestation of Heluo God?" Elder Tianxuan’s tone was curious.
Then she chuckled lightly and said, "Let it be said that he died at the hands of a manifestation of Heluo God."
With that statement, she set the nature of King Lu’s death, with the Devil God Sect playing its role once again.
Although King Lu’s attempt at advancement failed, and he had to be blamed for the severe drought in Yong Province and rebellion, he was still a royal prince, the emperor’s kin; being connected with his killing would stir future troubles.
Now it was clear, King Lu simply died at the hands of Heluo God, and no one could use this as an excuse to cause trouble.
As for why Jiang Li, Zhong Shenxiu, Zhang Daoyi, and others were fighting at the scene, of course, they were performing a righteous act, repelling the manifestation of Heluo God and retrieving the Ghost Gate, ensuring the court’s treasure wasn’t lost.
Jiang Li wasn’t sure if Elder Tianxuan was present, but seeing her calm demeanor, she seemed to be well acquainted with the details.
"Ji Ye, that man was selfish from a young age and ultimately lost his family business to his selfishness. The lineage of King Lu is finished, his throne is being stripped away, leaving behind a mess."
Elder Tianxuan walked unhurriedly at the front with her hands stacked, continuing the conversation while walking, "I heard from Qing Yue that you chose Qi Refiner in the seventh realm, how is your Dao Fruit progressing now?"