Disbelief and Perfectly Reasonable
Li Yunjing took a deep breath and took a step forward.
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly throughout the main hall.
"Everyone, the Primordial Dao Fruit is not fortuitous opportunity from heaven."
After those words were spoken, the righteous faction fell silent for a moment, then a low murmur arose.
What does Sect Leader Li mean by that?
"Dao Fruit isn't fortuitous opportunity, then what is it?"
"It concerns everyone's life and death? Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"
The crowd discussed it amongst themselves, most of them looking puzzled, and some even somewhat dismissive.
The Dao Fruit appears only once every 100,000 years, and obtaining it can bring prosperity to one's sect and bestow good fortune upon oneself. This is common knowledge that has been passed down for countless years.
How did it become a matter of life and death in Li Yunjing's mouth?
The demonic faction on the west side erupted in mocking laughter.
"Hahaha! Have the righteous people been scared out of their wits?" the Old Devil Bone Spirit sneered. "Unable to obtain the Dao Fruit, they resort to such nonsense to undermine morale? How utterly despicable!"
"Exactly! I think Li Yunjing is scared and is deliberately making up lies to buy time!" the Old Devil Yin Corpse echoed.
Yan Tianjin did not laugh, but stared coldly at Li Yunjing, his eyes sharp as knives.
He has lived for ten thousand years and has seen far too many conspiracies and schemes.
Li Yunjing saying such things in public is either a charade or... he has really discovered something.
Zhang Jianchen raised his hand to quell the murmurs from the righteous faction, and the discussions gradually subsided.
"Sect Leader Li, explain in detail," he said in a deep voice, "What do you mean by 'not a divinely ordained fortuitous opportunity '?"
Li Yunjing nodded and recounted in detail the murals in the secret chamber and the inscriptions left by the first ancestor of Biyuan.
From the limits of the Dao Realm's capacity to the cyclical cleansing mechanism that lasts 100,000 years, from the absorption of fallen warriors into the Dao Fruit to nourish the world, to the eventual assimilation, annihilation of soul and spirit, and extinction from the cycle of reincarnation of the one who ultimately obtains the Dao Fruit...
With each sentence spoken, the murmurs in the hall subsided slightly.
After he finished speaking, the entire main hall fell silent.
You could hear a pin drop.
Everyone froze on the spot, their expressions shifting from initial indifference to confusion, then to shock, and finally to deathly pale.
"No... it can't be." Zhou Ziyang of the Purple Yang Sect muttered to himself, his beard trembling slightly. "Those who obtain the Dao Fruit will be assimilated? Their souls and spirits will be annihilated?"
"Then what are we fighting over all this time?" Ling Yue, the sect leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect, frowned deeply. "A certain death?"
"And all those cultivators who died in battle became nourishment for their Dao Fruit?" Ge Changyun of the Pill Cauldron Sect turned pale. "A great purge every 100,000 years, this is too cruel..."
The Rogue Cultivator cultivators were in an uproar.
They risked their lives to enter the secret realm, all for the sake of fortuitous opportunity, for the sake of instant advancement.
But now someone is telling them that the Dao Fruit is a deadly Yama, who takes lives, and whoever touches it will die?
"It's fake! It's definitely fake!" someone shouted, blustering but weak-willed. "Li Yunjing, you can't produce any evidence, so what makes you think you can slander Dao Fruit with baseless accusations?"
"The evidence is in the secret chamber beneath the side hall plaza," Li Yunjing said calmly. "The murals and inscriptions are all there; everyone can go see them at any time. Biyuan Primordial Ancestor Black Bird, was a participant in the great war ten thousand years ago. He discovered the truth and used his own life to set up a great formation, sealing his Dao Fruit here to prevent the next catastrophe."
He pointed to the black jade coffin in the center. "The ancestor inside the coffin has already sacrificed himself and transformed into the spirit of the array."
He did not rise from the dead, nor did he leave any prophecy of resurrection. What he left behind was protection and warning.
Zhi Qianshu stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "That's right! The bloodline mark of the First Ancestor can prove it. The murals in the secret chamber were indeed carved by the First Ancestor himself."
The soldiers nodded in Biyuan, their expressions solemn.
Everyone's gaze fell on the black jade coffin, and looking at the Black Bird totem with outstretched wings, their doubts lessened somewhat.
If it weren't true, who would joke about their own ancestors?
"Nonsense!"
Yan Tianjin was on the west side, suddenly spoke, his voice icy cold.
"What reincarnation cleansing, what Spirit Transformation —it's all nonsense made up by you righteous sects." Yan Tianjin's eyes were sinister. "You just wanted to fabricate a story so that no one would dare to touch it, since you saw me here and knew you couldn't seize the Dao Fruit."
"Li Yunjing, I ask you," Yan Tianjin changed the subject, his gaze fixed on Li Yunjing, "Did you kill my eighth son, Xuanjue?"
These words startled everyone once again.
Eighth Prince Yan Xuanjue?
Yan Tianjin's son also came? And he was killed by Li Yunjing?
All eyes were on Li Yunjing.
Li Yunjing remained calm and met Yan Tianjin's gaze with composure. "Yan Xuanjue led Devil Cultivator to launch a surprise attack from the side, intending to kill us. Good and evil are irreconcilable, so it was perfectly reasonable for me to take action and kill him."
"Good! How perfectly reasonable!"
Yan Tianjin slammed his palm against the stone pillar beside him.
Boom!
The stone pillar, as thick as two people could hug, instantly turned to dust.
Heavenly Devil energy erupted from Yan Tianjin's body like a volcanic eruption, the black demonic energy surging upwards, almost breaking through the dome.
The temperature inside the hall plummeted, and everyone felt a bone-chilling cold.
"How dare you, you little brat?!"
Yan Tianjin's voice was filled with rage, "You killed two of my sons, and you still dare to speak so eloquently before me! Today, I will surely tear your soul from your body and refine it, so that you will wish you were dead!"
He took a step forward, about to pounce on Li Yunjing.
The terrifying pressure from the Loose Immortal Realm pressed down on Li Yunjing like a mountain.
"Yan Tianjin!"
Xuanjizi and Yunyouzi stepped forward simultaneously, standing to the left and right of Li Yunjing.
The two Loose Immortal ' bodies surged with immortal light, and two beams of light, one white and one purple, shot into the sky, forcefully withstanding Yan Tianjin's oppressive aura.
"If you dare to make a move, your Dao Fruit will be lost." Xuanjizi's tone was solemn. "Yan Tianjin, you need to think carefully. Is killing Li Yunjing more important, or is the Dao Fruit that only comes once every 100,000 years more important?"
Yunyouzi pointed his divine sword diagonally, lightning flashing. "If you want to fight, I'll accompany you, but if you disturb the Dao Fruit, can you bear the consequences?"
The three faced off, their auras clashing and distorting the very space around them.
As expected, the Dao Fruit in the center began to flicker violently again, its seven-colored light flashing brightly and dimly, and the spatial fluctuations growing stronger and stronger, seemingly about to Rend Space and escape once more.
Yan Tianjin's chest heaved violently as he stared intently at Li Yunjing, the hatred in his eyes almost tangible.
He wanted to kill Li Yunjing, wishing he could tear him to pieces immediately.
But he knew even more clearly that Xuanjizi was right.
The Dao Fruit is the most important thing.
If killing Li Yunjing would frighten away Dao Fruit, then it would truly be a loss that outweighs the gain.
The demonic path's ten thousand years of waiting cannot be ruined by his momentary impulse.
"Call--"
Yan Tianjin exhaled a long breath of turbid air, Heavenly Devil energy slowly subsided.
"Very well, very well indeed." He stared at Li Yunjing, enunciating each word clearly, "I've remembered this debt. I'll settle it with you slowly once I've obtained my Dao Fruit."
"Then I will show you the consequences of offending me."
Li Yunjing said calmly, "Demon Emperor should first consider whether he has the life to obtain the Dao Fruit. The one who tries to seize the fruit will have their soul and spirit annihilated; this is no joke."
"Insolence!" Yan Tianjin angrily.
"Enough." Zhang Jianchen stepped forward. "Yan Tianjin, whether Sect Leader Li's words are true or false will be revealed in the future. But for now, we should try to stabilize the Dao Fruit. If it really escapes, then our trip will have been in vain."