Taiyi Dao Fruit-Chapter 1255 - 37: Soldiers Whose Strength Can Be Refreshed

"Great Heavenly Venerate, huh?"

Jiang Li softly recited this title, his heart almost certain that the Medicine Buddha Dao Fruit was sent by the Great Heavenly Venerate.

Only he can seize the Medicine Buddha Dao Fruit eight hundred years ago and give it to Shakyamuni Tathagata at a critical moment not long ago.

It must be admitted, the Great Heavenly Venerate's preparation is abundant, the Buddhist foundation is deep.

One made many preparations eight hundred years ago, the other, in times of the End of Dharma, at such perilous moments, still able to prepare for a comeback.

Shakyamuni Tathagata, Great Sun Tathagata, Randeng Tathagata, Medicine Buddha—all four second-grade Dao Fruits are in the Buddha Country. This only indicates that these four Tathagatas became extinct together. Moreover, they prepared diligently to ensure the Dao Fruits would not disperse.

Only in this way can they not be affected by the catastrophes of earth-splitting during the End of Dharma.

Unfortunately, both the Great Heavenly Venerate and the Buddhist sect faced unexpected situations. One had an extraordinary figure like the Awakened, one of a kind throughout history; the other... could be due to the fate.

First encountered the monkey who once wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, then defeated by Jiang Li who contained the Dao Fruit of the nephew.

Hard to say there's no element of cause and effect pulling the strings here.

"The Mazer has already condensed Randeng Dharma Form, controlling the Randeng Tathagata Dao Fruit. If those few use their Dao Fruits to sense the Amitabha Dao Fruit, the Mazer will also be aware." Karma Tathagata continued on the other side.

Even Randeng Buddha's Dao Fruit is under his control?

The True Spirit within these Buddhist Dao Fruits is much better than that within other Dao Fruits. To suppress, or control them is not an easy task.

At least for now, Jiang Li cannot control them. His numerical beauty excels in destruction and suppression, but when it comes to psychological and True Spirit aspects, it's somewhat lacking.

Slightly amazed at Karma Tathagata's achievements regarding the mind, Jiang Li replied, "Are you thinking of me joining forces to seize the Amitabha Dao Fruit?"

"Indeed, but those two will surely think that Tan Yue will come to aid, and might wait for an appropriate chance." Karma Tathagata said.

And where comes the appropriate chance? Naturally, when the court sets sail, it's time for Jiang Li and the Great Venerable to battle again.

Now, with Emperor Jiang controlling the sun and gaining momentum, he will inevitably expand outward, which is also seen by all parties. His decisive battle with the Great Venerable is bound to happen.

Moreover, the Great Heavenly Venerate might interfere between them.

"But this also represents that the initiative is now in our hands." Jiang Li said with a smile.

Currently, Emperor Jiang is the strongest, naturally, he can fight whoever he wants.

"It seems Tan Yue already has a plan." Karma Tathagata also laughed.

"Not exactly a plan, just a thought."

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When Jiang Li returned near the ginseng fruit tree, he had already ended his conversation with Karma Tathagata.

At this time, Gongsun Qingyue and Tianxuan, this plastic master-disciple pair, hadn't finished their heart-to-heart with fist fight.

"Junior brother, junior brother! Help me!"

Inside his heart echoed the urgent call of Gongsun Qingyue, then the power of the sun surged towards the other side.

Before the ginseng fruit tree, myriad stars lined up, forming a magic realm integrated into space. Inside, stars revolved, essence qi stirred, transforming into a colossal array formation, continually striking the three solar wheels trapped within the formation.

However, with Jiang Li's power transmission, the three solar wheels also regained their momentum, unleashing Supreme Yang True Fire, igniting the starry sky.

After all, Senior Sister still couldn't defeat Tianxuan, and could only secretly seek aid from Jiang Li, trying to move the master with the two's "filial piety." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Yet······

Jiang Li glanced at the star map above the ginseng fruit tree that unbeknownst to him, manifested out of nowhere, and let out a soft sigh, "The older ginger is still hotter."

That star map was precisely the Celestial Map.

This old Sixth Brother of the Great Heavenly Venerate had already arranged tactics for a battle at the Imperial City back in the day, the Celestial Map was his counter-tactic.

In the previous great battle, the Great Heavenly Venerate directly unsealed the cave heaven of the Royal Family, and severed the connection between the Celestial Map and the Map of Mountains and Rivers, using the former to hinder Daoist Lord for a period.

Unfortunately, in the end, the Celestial Map was still suppressed by the sun, and the Map of Mountains and Rivers also fell into Jiang Li's possession. In retrospect, Jiang Li still has to thank the Great Heavenly Venerate, thank him for allowing these two treasures to be used.

Currently, the Map of Mountains and Rivers has been temporarily put away by Jiang Li, and the Celestial Map is temporarily left to Tianxuan.

Within the Celestial Map is the Purple Emperor Dao Fruit, which is the master of stars and also the son of Doumu Yuanjun. This Dao Artifact is intended to aid Tianxuan in demonstrating Dao Fruit and comprehending the Star Dao. Therefore, it's temporarily given to Tianxuan for use.

As a result, Tianxuan secretly refined the Celestial Map once using the Innate Qi, and the first person she dealt with was her own disciple.

Though her strength and realm are above Gongsun Qingyue, she still prepared this contingency to prevent herself from suffering a loss to Gongsun Qingyue.

Now the Celestial Map has only been activated, but not yet utilized, after all, Tianxuan still maintains her dignity. When she uses the Dao Artifact, that's when Gongsun Qingyue will realize her mistake.

You can only say that, trying to fight an old demon, Senior Sister is still a bit young.

Shaking his head, Jiang Li realized this heart-to-heart with fist fight between the master and disciple will not end anytime soon.

He let out a soft sigh, returned to sit under the ginseng fruit tree, and another form of him went to the Ziwei Hall.

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Ziwei Hall.

With the flicker of light and shadow, the figure of Jiang Li appeared on the throne, and the previously tense atmosphere suddenly dissipated.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Zhu Hui'an, the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer, Yin Tulong, along with the clan elders of the Ji Family and the Jiang family, simultaneously bowed toward the figure on the throne.

The considerable commotion in the Imperial City could be said to have caused turmoil in the court and field. However, before they could arrive, the damaged Imperial City had already restored itself, with the spiritual mechanism between heaven and earth growing increasingly flourishing.

This somewhat appeased the crowd, but having not seen Jiang Li, they couldn't completely rest assured.

Until now, Jiang Li appeared, and his qi mechanism filled the heavens and earth, reminiscent of the Great Sun······

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on ascending to Second Grade."

The Imperial College Sacrificial Officer was the first to sense Jiang Li's level of strength and its connection with the reverse-moving sun.

Zhu Hui'an was a beat slower but then also rejoiced, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, for the ascension. Long live the emperor, eternal glory."

The elevation to Second Grade is not just a leap in strength; for the emperor, it likely means the breaking of life's limitations. As a minister from the dragon lineage, Zhu Hui'an received this news with great joy, how could he not?

The other people heard the news and were astonished, their faces full of delight.

As for any trace of regret, now is not the time to show it.

If the emperor unravels the limits on his lifespan, perhaps there will only ever be one sun in the skies over Great Zhou. Showing regret then would be asking for death.

"Zhu Qing's words are somewhat exaggerated. Even heaven and earth have their moments of decay, how could I be eternal?"

Jiang Li laughed heartily and remarked, "At most, I'm just living longer than before. It's good this way, allowing me to strive for Great Zhou for another five hundred years."

With these words, Emperor Jiang revealed a wistful expression, as he deeply loved this dynasty, loved it intensely.

After all, who wouldn't love their own kingdom?

After receiving rounds of congratulations again, Jiang Li motioned lightly to quiet the hall again before speaking, "Zhu Qing, how many usable soldiers does our court have now?"

Upon these words, the crowd immersed in joy was jolted, awakening from their delight.

Inquiring about the number of soldiers—is this a sign of war again?

"Your Majesty," the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer spoke ahead of Zhu Hui'an, "Our dynasty has gone through many battles, with even the Three States blood-sacrificed by those traitors; now, the available soldiers are likely not many."

Years of continuous warfare, each involving third grade cultivators; no matter how vast Great Zhou might be, there's an urgent shortage of troops. After all, vast territories require ample forces for defense, and ordinary soldiers are hard to deploy effectively. Only cultivators integrated with Dao Fruit can prove useful in the coming battles.

After the Sacrificial Officer finished speaking, Zhu Hui'an also reported: "Thanks to Your Majesty's virtue, all kings submit, and there are no bandits within the seas. After numerous battles, our dynasty is gradually restoring its Essence Qi. Currently, our dynasty has three hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers, common forces exceeding a million. Despite the lack of Dao Fruit integration among common soldiers, they're aided by the Mo Sect crafting war Magic Artifacts like revolver guns, allowing reliance on artifact advantages in battle."

When speaking of all kings submitting, it's clear the forces include theirs.

Yet even including all kings, only three hundred thousand Heavenly Soldiers······

"Still not enough," Jiang Li said.

Thirty thousand sounds substantial, in previous battles against the Heavenly Monarch it wasn't fully deployed, but it pales when compared to the Great Venerable.

Because Jiang Li's forces can't refresh, but the Great Venerable's can.

The Great Venerable's forces don't even need to wait for a specific time to refresh—they can refresh anytime, anywhere.

Previously, the Great Venerable used Cosmic Light Divine Ability to reverse time, reviving devil cultivators slain by the Daoist Lord. In wartime, the Great Venerable can fully reenact this, turning his subordinates into immortal soldiers.

Cosmic Light Divine Ability, for those weaker than itself, exists in a trend of absolute supremacy, whether against enemies or allies.

Even if a master massively slaughters enemy forces, the Great Venerable can reverse time and revive them.

Furthermore, when engaging the Great Venerable, forces will not be deployed to the main battlefield but should be engaged in attacks and defenses at various locations.

On the main battlefield, once the sun's rays fall, it renders both sides' forces irrelevant, making them dead and unable to act. Therefore, the Great Venerable will use forces to invade the Divine Country, disrupting Jiang Li's rule.

In war, it's soldier against soldier, general against general, king against king.

Having inadequate forces doesn't mean it's unfeasible to fight, especially with the invincible Emperor Jiang present, but ultimately it would lead to severe troop losses. The little Essence Qi recently restored through spiritual mechanism recovery might be squandered again.

Great Zhou has fought too many wars in recent years.

With this in mind, Jiang Li spoke: "Communicate with the Three States, especially coastal areas, and guard against overseas devil cultivator invasions."

Given the troop shortage, maintain defensive posture primarily, and refrain from engaging the Great Venerable for now.

"First, attack the boundless desert, Zhen Ru layman."

Jiang Li said softly.