When night fell, the sky, which had been overcast for days, finally cleared. The cycle of stars filled the sky, and the starlight shone brilliantly, outshining the moonlight.

In the workshop outside the Divine Capital, a man in a blue robe stood leaning against the railing of a small building. He looked up at the sky, his gaze falling on the North Pole, and a smile slowly curved his lips.

"The Emperor Star has shifted, and finally, the moment has come."

The young man, whose appearance was unremarkable, lightly tapped the wooden railing and spoke to himself with a smile: "First, lure the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer Mo Yiling out of the Divine Capital, then force Uncle Earth to retreat, making both think you are seizing the opportunity to sweep the court. Yet, they don't know that you wish to grasp the Dao Fruit of the Emperor in the palm of your hand. However, what you do aligns with my intentions, dear brother."

"The Princess cannot oversee the kingdom, the Sacrificial Officer and Uncle Earth cannot compete with you. The power falls into your hands, and with the Emperor's Dao Fruit, even if you don't possess it, you are indistinguishable from an emperor. Great Zhou's Jiangshan, in the end, has passed into other hands."

The youth spoke slowly, seemingly conversing with someone across space. His tone was leisurely but carried an unusual enthusiasm.

As the conversation continued, his pupils gradually elongated, becoming majestic vertical slits.

"Dear brother, I never forced you."

As he spoke, the youth turned his hand, and suddenly, a pot of wine and a cup appeared simultaneously on the wooden railing.

He slowly poured himself a cup of wine, raised it, and respectfully offered it toward the direction of the Imperial City.

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At the Imperial City North Gate, the dazzling golden light had all receded, replaced by the all-encompassing starlight.

The Princess looked up at the sky and said, "It's said that those who study Yi can observe the star formation to know the affairs of the world. Now, does the Great Venerable know what you are about to do?"

Jiang Li was slightly startled upon hearing this, then also raised his head, looking toward the location of the Ziwei Star in the North Pole. "The Seven Stars symbolize Xuan Yuan, the appearance of the Ziwei Emperor Star represents the aura of the Ji Family's Emperor. However, during the great drought in Yong Province, the Ziwei Star had already started to shift. Now, observing the North Pole by night, it's impossible to determine the Emperor's fate. Yet, the seal was set by the Great Venerable, and when I release it, he will surely sense it."

"Is that so······" The Princess's eyes flickered, also looking forward.

At that moment, the brilliance of the Divine Farmer's Cauldron was all concealed, making the Emperor's figure no longer prominent. However, as strands of qi veins intertwined above his head, a faint ripple appeared, and the Emperor, originally like a stone statue, gradually exuded an aura of majesty.

Jiang Li manipulated qi across space, outlining and interweaving qi veins. A Qian Trigram gradually formed, under its elusive cover, the frozen time began to flow.

The seal, originally formed by the Cosmic Light Divine Ability, should also be undone by it. The Great Venerable, having reached a realm of understanding divine skills, had long created a method to comprehend the mysteries of Cosmic Light.

The unsealing of the Cosmic Light seal was within the Qian Trigram.

As the Qian Trigram slowly descended, Jiang Li's Heavenly Eye penetrated through, once again seeing that ocean of light. In the flowing "stream," the shadow of the emperor overlapped with the Emperor's physical body.

Then, a ripple of life, characteristic of living creatures, appeared in the Emperor's eyes.

He had come back to life.

The Emperor still bore traces of blood, but his aura concealed his physical weakness. When unsealed, the entire Imperial City seemed to transform from a dead object into a living one.

But before the Emperor's aura could resonate with the Imperial City, the space altered, another layer of the world overlapping this space.

The Primordial Lord Rain Master manipulated the Treasure Extreme Cave Heaven, causing it to rise from beneath the earth veins. The Cave Heaven's space overlapped with the Imperial City's space, displacing each other, and behind the North Gate, it suddenly became an empty expanse.

The Emperor, having been sealed in time, couldn't move, thus a Dharma Platform was constructed around the seal. However, now that the Emperor was unsealed, the situation was naturally different.

As the Emperor's eyes roamed, he suddenly found himself in a strange space.

Beneath him lay fractured ground, remnants of mountains surrounded him, the sky was filled with handprints and marks, carrying a flat yet dangerous qi mechanism.

"Cave Heaven Blessed Land······"

The aged Emperor instantly recognized the space he was in. His gaze swept over the Rain Master, transformed into Yinglong, and the Princess, finally landing on Jiang Li.

"You are the one who entered the time river back then,"

He didn't first ask the Princess and the Rain Master, but instead spoke to Jiang Li, the one with whom he had the least connection, "Who are you?"

Strangely, even until now, it was the first official meeting between the Emperor and Jiang Li.

The Emperor knew Jiang Li's name and had seen Jiang Li in the river of time, but he hadn't connected the Jiang branch family member with the person before him.

"Jiang Li."

Jiang Li calmly responded with a series of titles, "Family Head of the Jiang family, Yaoguang Elder of the Dinghu Sect, Minister of Works of the court, possibly with a future title of Regent King."

With these titles alone, the Emperor could infer the changes in the court's situation after he was sealed, as well as the current status of this Jiang family branch member before him.

"The remnants of the Jiang family, yet you seek to rise above my Ji family."

The Emperor spoke quietly, finally turning to the Princess, "Imperial sister, you rebelled against me, yet you allowed the Jiang family to dominate the court. Do you regret it?"

"If it weren't for your misrule, how could the current situation have arisen," the Princess remained expressionless, unmoved by the Emperor's words, "Do you know because you didn't suppress the Taiping Sect in time, half of Liangzhou was flooded? Do you know the Heavenly Monarch was the one who allowed Heaven's Punishment to befall you, and he's also the one who wounded Heaven, causing the instability of the Great Zhou Jiangshan."

"Without your loss of virtue, Great Zhou would not have come to this."

The current situation has factors involving demons, ghosts, and monsters, as well as moves by supreme powers. However, the root cause traces back to the time when the Emperor suffered Heaven's Punishment and regained human nature.

If after that, the Emperor had not rejected the Emperor Dao Fruit, then given the nature of the Emperor Dao Fruit, he would have quickly recovered and would not be bedridden. Everything that happened afterward might have occurred, but it would never have come to this.

Alas, there are no ifs in life, and to ask someone to give up humanity and self is indeed extremely difficult.

At least Jiang Li admitted he could not do it.

The Emperor could not do it either.

"So much has happened after I was sealed."

The Emperor, with a sense of wistfulness, seemed completely unmoved by the Princess's intense words. Leaning on his sword, he spoke in a slow tone typical of the elderly, "So my transformation was so critical. But... what does that have to do with me?"

"If I abandon humanity, what does it matter to me if the Great Zhou prospers?"

"If I lose my life, what does it matter to me if the Great Zhou fails?"

"After my death, let the floods flood the skies. I just want to live."

Perhaps due to saying too much, the Emperor took several heavy breaths after speaking. But when he had caught his breath evenly, he slowly stood straight, and even the wrinkles on his face seemed to fade.

"You unsealed me to get the Emperor Dao Fruit, but do you really think you can defeat me?"

The Emperor's eyes revealed a disdainful look, and as his voice fell, the earth shook.

This Supreme seemed to have regained his former strength, and with just his aura, he caused the Treasure Extreme Cave Heaven to tremble.

But his opponents only made the Emperor laugh.

A third rank, two fourth ranks.

The third rank was newly promoted, and although the fourth rank included the Princess, who was already in the promotion ceremony, they were still fourth rank. That remaining Jiang family child was even further behind. Considering the time, he had been at the fourth rank for about a year and a half, which was already exceptionally talented. But such a short time was not enough for him to reach fourth-grade perfection.

With just this, you think to take the Emperor Dao Fruit?

The Emperor undoubtedly did not truly understand the current version.

Yet Jiang Li did not laugh.

After all, it was the Emperor, once one of the Six Great Powers, deserving of some respect.

"Certainly not just us."

Jiang Li shook his head, denying the Emperor's words, "But rather..."

"By me."

He reached out, extending backward, and from within the Divine Farmer's Cauldron burst forth thousands upon thousands of strands of Primordial Qi, rushing to his palm.

As the myriad Qi condensed, an ethereal sword appeared in Jiang Li's grasp.

Having originally restored the Great Circle Sword from a fragment and used it till now, it was the sword most in harmony with Jiang Li. Yet, as Jiang Li's power climbed, the Great Circle Sword, although augmented by Primordial Qi, ultimately lacked in power.

Ultimately, it was because the Great Circle Sword had been crafted by three fourth-rank artifact masters. Though it seemed all-encompassing, capable of increasing in power as the Sword Master's strength grew, at its core, it was still a fourth-grade magical artifact.

Therefore, after obtaining the Three-legged Golden Crow Dao Fruit, Jiang Li combined the Golden Crow Dao Fruit with the Golden Crow Relics, using the Qi Weapon Technique from Yuxu Temple to merge with Innate Qi and reforged the sword.

Using the purest Innate Qi within the Divine Farmer's Cauldron as the foundation, the Great Circle Sword was reborn, transformed.

Jiang Li held the newly born Great Circle Sword, a streak of light flew from his sleeve, easily merging within.

The Great Circle Sword's light surged intensely, suddenly filled with a rebellious aura, its sword momentum clashing against that of the Emperor.

The Rebel King Han Zhuo Dao Fruit, obtained after slaying the Jiang family head's eldest, Jiang Zhuyang, directly integrated into the Great Circle Sword, completely realizing its power due to its harmony with Jiang Li.

The Jiang family's natural rebelliousness was repeatedly acknowledged by Earth Uncle.

Jiang Li raised the sword, the rebellious sword momentum locking onto the Emperor, "To stall with rhetoric, absorbing the spiritual mechanism of the Cave Heaven Blessed Land, seeking to regain power, even at this dire time, holding onto every chance, Your Majesty's will to survive is truly strong. But how can Your Majesty be sure that I did not see through your intentions?"

"I'm waiting too."

Jiang Li was waiting too, waiting for the forging of this sword.

Heaven creates all things to nurture humanity, yet people resent heaven's unkindness. The previously mentioned resentment of heaven's unkindness refers to the Emperor, and to eliminate resentment is to slay the Emperor.

The Great Circle Sword was especially reforged for slaying the Emperor; this sword could perfectly exhibit the abilities of various Dao Fruits Jiang Li possessed and harmonize with all Dao Artifacts.

The killing momentum reached its peak at this moment.

"May Your Majesty ascend to heaven."

Suddenly, a madman sharpens his knife at night, while the Emperor Star wavers, Mars rises high.

The knife is sharpened, the Emperor Star shall perish.

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