On the mountain cliff platform, Jiang Li concentrated his perception for a moment, even closing off his sense of smell, touch, hearing, and taste to enhance his Divine Sense. Yet, he still couldn't detect any trace of something amiss.

Wuzhiqi's divine skills were indeed formidable. Even with Jiang Li's current level of perception, he couldn't catch the slightest hint, not even a random stroke of luck.

'Indeed, if Wuzhiqi's divine skills really have something to do with the Six-Eared Macaque, it's normal that I can't detect them,' Jiang Li thought of various possibilities.

Upon hearing Jiang Li's words, Li Qinglian's eyelid twitched slightly, and she almost broke character by revealing a wry smile.

The Five Vile Qi!

Heaven knows how Jiang Li managed to wield the Five Vile Qi, causing her to be saddled with such a blame.

However, judging by Li Qinglian's interaction with Jiang Li, it was clear that he didn't understand the subtlety of transforming the pure and impure and couldn't do as Zhang Daoyi did, absorbing the Five Impurities of heaven and earth to refine his spiritual mechanism.

He seemed to use the Five Vile Qi as a soldier for offense, with no ability to enhance his power.

To say he didn't understand the Nine Heavens Demon Clearing True Technique, yet he was able to wield the Five Vile Qi; to say he did understand, yet he couldn't refine the impure qi.

As experienced as Li Qinglian was, she couldn't see through Jiang Li's true depth.

"If you want to witness the Five Vile Qi, then you'll have to rely on your own abilities," Li Qinglian said as she grasped her sword.

"I'll do it."

Witch Di stepped forward without hesitation, signaling a one-on-one challenge; her aura changed in an instant, the power that confused order hidden within an unfathomable fluctuation, replaced by sheer sharpness, the sharpness of a Sword Cultivator.

The Star Bead Dao Fruit seemed to have left her body, her Grade dropping to Sixth Rank.

'No, not a drop, but a reversal.'

Jiang Li, whose perception had not yet returned to normal, clearly sensed a subtle change in Witch Di's vitality, feeling as if...

'She's become younger.'

He suddenly realized in his heart: 'Her time has reversed.'

Witch Di, now at Sixth Rank, was before she had accepted the Star Bead Dao Fruit.

'If that's the case, it's no wonder why my second senior brother has been within the sect for so many years without showing any flaws.'

In the eyes of the sect members, even in the eyes of the Sect Leader, Feng Ziyang was just a Sixth Rank Sword Cultivator and had absolutely nothing to do with Witch Di at fifth-rank. Feng Ziyang had life-saving methods bestowed by Elder Yuheng; if he was Witch Di, how could those be explained?

A fifth-rank couldn't possibly carry a fourth-rank killing move; it was common sense.

With this in mind, Jiang Li secretly used the Emperor's Qi Observation Skill to observe Witch Di's Divine Sense and, indeed, found part of it was consumed to maintain the fourth-rank killing move.

'Even this has flowed back, truly mystifying,' Jiang Li thought to himself.

In this case, even if Feng Ziyang suddenly left the sect for a day or two, no one would suspect that he was Witch Di from the Feng family.

The biggest piece of evidence, the Star Bead Dao Fruit, had now become a thing of the future.

This was the method of concealment used by the Great Venerable.

With such a method of hiding, truly no one in this world would be able to detect anything amiss, not even the other supreme beings.

If Jiang Li hadn't already locked onto Witch Di's identity and knew that she was Feng Ziyang, he wouldn't have thought of this. The Great Venerable's divine skills were truly indefensible.

He even conjectured, following this Cosmic Light Divine Ability, that those figures he had discovered through the causal thread, those members of the Feng family, were also using such a method to hide, including Jiang Li's own dear brother—Feng Manlou.

'Perhaps I can even boldly guess that if one can freely change a person's past and present, is it possible to split into past selves and present selves?'

Jiang Li slightly narrowed his eyes; he had finally found possible evidence for the conjecture that Feng Manlou and the Great Venerable were one and the same.

If the Great Venerable truly could achieve this, then Feng Manlou and the Great Venerable could indeed be the same person.

Setting aside the fact that Jiang Li had discovered certain clues on his side, after Witch Di reversed time back to Sixth Rank, her strength changed, but her swordsmanship became even more ferocious.

She kept her Grade at the same Sixth Rank as Li Qinglian, aiming to test the incarnation of The World's Number One Sword at the same realm.

For those who practice the Sword Dao, the Four Swordsmanship Extremes are monuments to aspire to, among which, Taibai True Monarch, ranks at the pinnacle-first place.

"Witch Di, I await your instruction," Witch Di said with clenched sword formula and a resolute voice.

Seeing this, Li Qinglian didn't consider it as arrogance but merely held the hilt of her Qixing Dragon Abyss Sword, slowly drawing the sword tip out.

Alongside the clear and enduring sound of the sword, the sharpness of the Qixing Dragon Abyss gradually emerged inch by inch, revealing the extraordinary image of a divine dragon circling the abyss, as Witch Di suddenly drew the sword formula.

"Clang!"

The Viper unsheathed, and the Sword Light divided into thirty-six strands, arrayed like the Heavenly Gang forming a net of swords.

"The ability of Sword Light Division of the Dao Fruit Ability has really become your own ability."

Upon seeing this controlled Sword Light, Li Qinglian lightly praised, and as he had not yet fully drawn the Qixing Dragon Abyss, his left hand was already bending and pulling, sending five sword qi flying from his fingertips, thin and long—clearly the method of the Sword Dao of refining sword into silk.

His fingers flicked, and the sword silk danced like agile dragons and snakes, cutting in all directions to intercept the thirty-six strands of Sword Light. In an instant, the sword qis collided with a clanging sound, their lights and shadows striking against each other, flickering coldly like winter ice crystals reflecting sunlight, splendid yet dangerous.

"Clang!"

It was at this moment that the Qixing Dragon Abyss was fully unsheathed. Li Qinglian's left hand clenched into a fist, and the sword silks converged to slice through each Sword Light. The Dragon Abyss Sword turned, and the sword qi surged like a tide.

"The Yellow River flows to the Eastern Ocean, the sun sets in the Western Sea."

The sword qi surged like great rivers, continuously rushing forth, its piercing sharpness forcing Ashuren and the Holy Infant King to hastily retreat to either side.

"Absolute Sword."

Witch Di, too, made a quick decision, employing the technique that combines both the direct and reverse trigrams, his sword like a wildfire spreading ferociously, its qi meandering like tumbling flames.

Wildfire and torrent, different manifestations, but both made of sword qi, collided, erupting in a burst of sharpness, scattering in all directions.

"Dang!"

Ashuren's body swelled up, using the Asura Body to withstand the afterwaves.

The Holy Infant King's body emitted flames, the fierce fire burning brightly, incinerating the sword qi.

Meanwhile, Jiang Li casually waved his hand, redirecting all the sharpness towards the mountain wall, leaving deep sword marks behind.

And at the same time, two figures soared out from the swirling Sword Light, leaping into the air, their sword qis interweaving from the ground to the sky, expanding rings of Sword Light colliding, and streaks of sword qi shuttling back and forth through the air without end.

"Pah! This sword qi actually made me feel pain; this masked guy really has some tricks," Ashuren said, patting his chest.

"To be able to engage in combat with Li Qinglian at Sixth Rank, apart from the widely renowned Young Master of the Jiang family, this is the first," the Holy Infant King's eyes widened as he looked towards the sky, "Could this person also possess the form of the Four Swordsmanship Extremes?"

'He may possess the form of the Four Swordsmanship Extremes, but to say that he can compete with Li Qinglian in the Sword Dao is still not possible.'

Jiang Li silently continued the thought in his heart, 'Even I only surpass Li Qinglian in overall power, and would not dare claim my Sword Dao is superior. This Li Qinglian has never used the true sword techniques of Taibai True Monarch.'

Taibai True Monarch established his Sword Dao on the Gold Element, yet Li Qinglian, as his embodiment, has never used the Gold Element sword formula; his true foundation has never been fully displayed.

Although Li Qinglian has said that he wants to pursue a different Sword Dao, cultivating a hundred techniques to transcend the fetters of Taibai True Monarch, until now, he has yet to achieve this. His strongest aspect is still the Sword Dao derived from Taibai True Monarch.

However, even though Li Qinglian has not yet exerted his full strength, he is astonishing enough, capable of contending with a fifth-rank as a sixth-rank.

That Witch Di can exchange blows with such a Li Qinglian also shows his exceptionality.

"Yitian Absolute Sword," without the support of the Star Bead Dao Fruit Divine Power, instead highlights the essence of the Sword Dao even more. The sword qi draws on the Eight Trigrams and reverses them, weaving endlessly and inexhaustibly.

Li Qinglian, on the other hand, wove poetry with his swordmanship, each verse and swordstroke materializing anomalies such as setting suns, vast oceans, green mountains, and rivers.

This fantastically beautiful swordplay, the sweeping changes in their attacks and defenses, captivated everyone within Nether City. Even on the opposing Wushan Mountain, figures appeared, watching this sword duel.

One such figure, with the body of a horse and the face of a human, stood out prominently.

It was Ying Zhao.

This individual, as a confidant of the Great Venerable and tasked with overseeing Wushan for the Great Venerable, also had a responsibility to ensure that Witch Di, a member of the Great Venerable Clan, did not face a life-threatening hazard in the duel.

And since Ying Zhao had been caught his attention...

'The opportunity has arisen,' Jiang Li thought, as glimmers of light twinkled between his brows like the Heavenly Eye, surveying all around.

All attention was fixed on the two combatants, including Jiang Li and Ying Zhao. Everyone was witnessing this sword duel, and it was an excellent time to seize an opportunity.

An opportunity to strike at Jiang Li.

Jiang Li's consciousness went utterly empty, mirroring his surroundings like a bright mirror, bringing everything nearby under his control.

Then, ripples appeared on that serene consciousness, a foreign force emerged.

"Ha."

Wuzhiqi had arrived.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.