Are there more experts?

Upon receiving this news, Jiang Li slowly formed a question mark.

This promotion by the Awakened is like stirring a hornet's nest, attracting all kinds of formidable figures.

This person can cooperate with the Heavenly Monarch, seemingly as equals, so their strength is likely close to that of the supreme beings, if not at par. Who is this elusive character that has remained hidden until now, only revealing themselves through this unexpected information?

Jiang Li pondered this person's identity, already seventy percent convinced by the news from Elder Kaiyang.

The reason is simple: if Elder Kaixiang were still under the control of the Heavenly Monarch, he wouldn't have sent this information, let alone delivered the Annihilation Spear into Jiang Li's hands.

Jiang Li has already received the item, and believing the information only heightens vigilance. Under these circumstances, it's almost impossible to deceive Jiang Li; thus, the Annihilation Spear is practically a free gift.

Should the Heavenly Monarch truly be so benevolent, Jiang Li merely hopes for more opportunities to be deceived.

"The water in the Buddha Country runs deeper and deeper," Jiang Li sighed softly.

As he spoke, he had already summoned all four of the Military God's weapons, encircled by a faint evil qi that intertwined with the Military God's Five Weapons, revealing a formidable aura.

Finally, having all five weapons in hand, under the guidance of the Warlord Dao Fruit, the five weapons transformed into shafts of light, merging into a single entity, brewing an unprecedentedly terrifying evil qi.

"Conceal."

Jiang Li suddenly spoke, using divine skills to forcibly suppress the explosion of the All Heaven Divine Sha, preventing further celestial anomalies. However, on his palm, the five weapons converged into a large star, still emulating scenes of destruction through the evil qi.

Landslides, earth splits, floods, fires, thunder strikes, storms, even sky collapses—all natural catastrophes, destruction of all things, manifest within.

The All Heaven Divine Sha and Innate Qi are opposite entities, embodying the mechanism of destruction, the inverse of all manifestations, the annihilation of all things.

Under the convergence of the Military God's Five Weapons, the endpoint of the All Heaven Divine Sha was revealed to Jiang Li, inducing a sense of crisis. However, this divine evil was quite intimate towards Jiang Li, seamlessly integrating with his body.

This is partly because Jiang Li had already mastered the All Heaven Divine Sha and merged it with the Innate Qi, and also...

An information thread accompanied the divine evil into Jiang Li's body, which he perceived.

[Second Grade Dao Fruit: Warlord Chi You]

[Category: Human, Divinity]

[Fitting Conditions: Third Grade Human Attribute Dao Fruit, Embrace the Warlord's Intent]

[Promotion Ceremony: Chasing Deer, Blood Kill Yanhuang]

[Divine Skills: Warlord, War God, Chi You's True Body, Undying, ???]

Most of the information within the Warlord Dao Fruit opened up to Jiang Li, and even its internal aura resonated well with him.

This is because Jiang Li had already completed part of the Warlord Dao Fruit's ceremony.

Eight hundred years ago, someone attempted to ascend the Warlord Dao Fruit, but the effort failed, leaving the Military God's Five Weapons in the hands of the Ji Family and Jiang family members, with the related promotion ceremony known to both clans.

Blood Kill Yanhuang requires the sacrifice of leaders from both the Ji Family and Jiang family, who must embody not just titles but immense qi and not be weaker than the third grade.

Jiang Li happens to meet this portion of the requirements, as his hands are stained with the blood of many strong individuals from both families. From the Jiang family side, it's a bit lacking; Manjusri himself was a strong figure among the third grade but hadn't fully commanded the Jiang family's qi. As for the Ji Family...

Jiang Li, nicknamed "Nemesis of the Ji Family."

In dealing with the Ji Family, Jiang Li is a professional; many Ji Family members like the Emperor, Earth Uncle, and Lu King have all fallen by his hand, proving his prowess.

Now that the Military God's Five Weapons are unified, they readily accept Jiang Li's sacrificial cultivation due to this reason.

Conversely, both Gongsun Qingyue and Primordial Lord Rain Master felt a shiver in their hearts, a profound sense of crisis emerging. Momentarily, a bloody battlefield seemed to appear before their eyes, filled with boundless blood evil consuming the sky and earth.

These two descendants of the Yellow Emperor suffered the most direct impact, and it was Jiang Li's suppression of this Dao Artifact that prevented it from automatically activating, sparing their lives.

"Such ferocious weaponry, worthy of the Military God's weapons."

Primordial Lord Rain Master quelled the unease within, with gold flashing in his dragon pupils, exhibiting a gaze of battle fervor and caution.

The assembly of the Military God's Five Weapons seemingly acted upon the Yinglong Dragon Dao Fruit's cause and effect, further influencing Primordial Lord Rain Master.

If he could defeat the wielder of the Military God's Five Weapons, the fusion progress of Primordial Lord Rain Master's Dao Fruit would increase rapidly, with his power significantly expanding. Considering this possibility, Rain Master's dragon pupils showed a scorching hue, yearning to devour Jiang Li in his gaze.

This individual's temperament is increasingly resembling that of the Dragon Species.

On the other side, Gongsun Qingyue was similarly activated, her body emanating golden flames, yet not as intense compared to Rain Master.

Unlike the Yellow Emperor, who closely resembles ordinary humans, the Emperor Yan was born with abnormal traits, which correspond to his god-like constitution, allowing the Emperor Yan to create "Qi Tomb" merely by exploring his innate physique. However, the Yellow Emperor required three thousand consorts, undoubtedly a much more arduous path.

This also led to the Yellow Emperor's descendants having little reaction to the Military God's Five Weapons.

After overcoming the initial discomfort, Gongsun Qingyue managed to steady herself with the Sun Dharma Form and looked at the red giant star with a hint of delight in her eyes, "With this weapon, even if the Shidi faces a Supreme Being, he won't be afraid, will he?"

"Which of those Supreme Beings are easy to deal with? I have a Second Grade Daoist Artifact, and so do they."

Jiang Li shook his head, not blindly confident, yet not overly cautious either, "To truly compare, we would have to fight to know."

After obtaining the Annihilation Spear, Jiang Li also felt a restless excitement in his heart.

He was infinitely close to the Realm of a Supreme Being, just a layer of separation like a paper-thin barrier.

After ascending to the third grade, Jiang Li gradually accepted the wisdom and insights within the Zhuang Zhou Dao Fruit, perhaps tomorrow, or maybe the next moment, he could pierce through this layer and enter that ultimate realm.

"Let's go, I'll take you to meet the Awakened."

As Jiang Li spoke, he raised the red giant star with an imaginary hand and summoned the wind with the other, taking the two women along into the wind, heading towards the No Buddha Temple without alarming others.

By his calculations, the Awakened should have already met the other monks in the Mountain of Mind and Heart and finished all necessary discussions, so he should have some free time now.

As he pondered, the No Buddha Temple was already in sight. Just as Jiang Li was about to surpass the temple gate and fly towards the Bodhi Tree, an unvoiced tremor appeared in his heart.

The feeling was as if there was some Dragon Slayer Sword about to emerge ahead, with which one would become invincible in the world.

"Hmm?"

Jiang Li furrowed his brow, looking at the Primordial Lord Rain Master and Gongsun Qingyue, meeting their similarly intent gazes.

Did they feel it too?

The three landed behind the No Buddha Temple simultaneously, and as soon as they touched down, they all looked towards the figure under the Bodhi Tree.

"It seems the benefactors have sensed it as well."

Seated cross-legged under the tree, the Awakened was not surprised by the strange expressions on the three's faces.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li immediately asked, "What is this?"

The Awakened did not hide anything and said, "This is the precursor to the Illusionist Ascension Ceremony."

"It is said that before the Tathagata validated the Dao, he meditated under the Bodhi Tree for seven days and seven nights, realizing the Buddha Fruit. The Mo Luo realized that once the Tathagata attained enlightenment, he would transcend the Color Realm and be unafraid of him, so he tried to obstruct the Dao."

"During those seven days and seven nights, Mo Luo tried all sorts of methods, all of which were resolved by the Tathagata. Ultimately, the Tathagata attained enlightenment of the Buddha Fruit, and Mo Luo was defeated."

"The Promotion Ceremony of the Tathagata Fruit is to repeat the enlightenment of those seven days and nights. During this period, the Mazer will undergo demonic trials and endure various external demon tribulations, because the Mazer has no more heart demons."

External demon tribulations...

Mo Luo...

"Us?" Jiang Li's eyes moved, saying, "Can we also become part of the demon tribulation?"

"Indeed," the Awakened nodded, "During the Mazer's ascension, due to the connections of cause and effect, anyone with entanglements of cause and effect with the Mazer, or any living creatures nearby, can sense it and can choose to become part of the Mazer's demon tribulation. If they successfully obstruct the Dao and the Mazer dies, they all share the cultivation."

Obstructing the Dao as a heavenly demon naturally holds advantages. If one manages to cause the death of the Dao attainer, they can obtain their cultivation and significantly enhance their strength.

When Mo Luo obstructed the Tathagata Buddha back then, it most likely had these factors in play as well.

Unfortunately, Mo Luo failed and became a stepping stone for the Tathagata Buddha, but the current Awakened may not face the same outcome.

"The cultivation of a Supreme Being..." Jiang Li murmured, "The ascension ceremony for the Second Grade is indeed arduous."

In terms of difficulty, the Second Grade Emperor Yan's Tao Fruit could be comparable, but in terms of danger, the ascension ceremony for Emperor Yan's Tao Fruit isn't as perilous.

"This ascension ceremony could very well turn into a situation where the whole world becomes the enemy." The Primordial Lord Rain Master also spoke quietly.

"On the other hand, if the Mazer's virtue is recognized by the world, this could become the simplest Second Grade ascension ceremony in the world."

The Awakened showed no sign of worry, smiling as he said, "Though the Mazer doesn't claim supreme virtue with no enemies, he at least has a few Protectors. With Jiang Tanyue and all of you here, the Mazer is not completely alone, right?"

Either by virtue to compel the world or by force to subdue all enemies, the difficulty variation in the ascension of the Tathagata Fruit is quite staggering.

If the Awakened could prevent others from disturbing, then he would only need to sit under the Bodhi Tree for seven days and nights to ascend to the Second Grade. As for enlightening the Buddha Fruit, having become the Awakened, his Dao path is sufficient already for him to become Buddha.

Before the moment where Tathagata Buddha became Buddha, he was only the Awakened.

However, everyone present knew that an easy ascension was impossible.

Those intending to obstruct the Dao will surely come, and a fierce battle will ensue by then.

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