Daoist Sanshan's Rudimentary Dao Fruit

On the other side, at the main battlefield of the Dragon Palace. Compared to the duel between Lu Yang and Young Cult Master Lu, the combat here was on an even higher level, drawing far more attention. "Nine-Story Demon Suppressing Pagoda!" Striking preemptively, Daoist Sanshan produced a pristine white, nine-story miniature pagoda. The headquarters of the East Sea Cultivator Alliance was a nine-story pagoda, but few knew that it was actually Daoist Sanshan's natal magical treasure. Daoist Sanshan chanted under his breath, and in an instant, the pagoda radiated myriad rays of light, transforming into a ray of dawn golden light that shot straight toward Ao Ling. Ao Ling shook her body and transformed into a myriad-zhang dark-black true dragon. Her entire form was clad in glossy black scales that shimmered with a deep, mysterious glimmer. Seeing a battle between half-immortals erupt, the crowd scrambled frantically to flee the Dragon Palace. Meng Jingzhou remained remarkably calm. It was merely a clash of half-immortals; he had already witnessed two of them. To him, this wasn't half as entertaining as watching that grandson Lu Yang put on a double act. "Grow!" Daoist Sanshan bellowed, and the pagoda expanded until it was as massive as a mountain, descending to suppress Ao Ling. But with an effortless flick of Ao Ling's tail, the pagoda was swept over. Daoist Sanshan felt as though he were facing a formidable enemy. Ao Ling hadn't even deployed her rudimentary Dao fruit; relying purely on the strength of her physical body, she had effortlessly toppled the natal magical treasure he took such pride in. Ao Ling charged again with her dragon horns, stirring up an undersea tsunami that howled like a tempest. Terrified, Daoist Sanshan hurriedly shifted his pagoda to block in front of him. The dragon horns were the hardest part of Ao Ling's true body. Even though the pagoda was Daoist Sanshan's natal magical treasure and had undergone countless years of refinement, it still could not withstand Ao Ling's blow. *Boom—* Daoist Sanshan and the pagoda were hurled backward together. Stone pillars collapsed, and a massive hole was smashed through the Dragon Palace wall—the impact blasted him straight out of the Dragon Palace! Lu Yang and Young Cult Master Lu took the opportunity to slip through the breach and continue their fight above the sea surface. "Who do you think will win?" "The Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor, most likely. I heard that even in the ancient era when prodigies were as plentiful as rain, she was an absolute powerhouse who rarely tasted defeat in battles between half-immortals." "I think so too. Don't forget that the Dragon Clan possesses naturally formidable physiques. The Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor's physical strength has likely reached the absolute pinnacle. Daoist Sanshan definitely wouldn't dare engage her in hand-to-hand combat." "Don't jump to conclusions so quickly. I've heard there is no absolute hierarchy among half-immortals; conceptual counters exist. If Daoist Sanshan's rudimentary Dao fruit happens to counter the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor, the outcome could very well be reversed." Ignoring the spectators' chatter, Daoist Sanshan silently chanted in his mind: *I make my wish here: strengthen my physical body, strengthen my pagoda, and grant me the power to subdue dragons!* Once the wish was made, Daoist Sanshan felt an earth-shattering transformation take place within him. His physical strength reached the absolute limit of the Tribulation Transcendence stage, and the pagoda drew infinitely close to an immortal artifact, virtually indestructible. The portions damaged earlier were restored completely. The weaknesses of the Dragon Clan flashed through his mind one by one; in his eyes, Ao Ling's true dragon form was now riddled with openings! After making the wish, Daoist Sanshan seemed like a changed man. Fighting with burgeoning ferocity, he could actually contend against Ao Ling using his physical body alone. Having acquired dragon-subduing arts, he even faintly suppressed Ao Ling, eliciting gasps of astonishment from the onlookers watching from afar. "I recall Daoist Sanshan was never known for his physical prowess. How can he brawl hand-to-hand with the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor?" Ao Ling's physical toughness was at the absolute peak, the ultimate achievement pursued by all body cultivators under heaven. No one expected Daoist Sanshan, whose strengths lay in divine abilities and spells, to achieve such a state! This was the rudimentary Dao fruit Daoist Sanshan had acquired through the power of faith—the Rudimentary As-You-Wish Dao Fruit. It allowed him to make three wishes, though the scope of those wishes had to correlate with what his believers prayed for. For instance, because believers rarely made wishes regarding souls, he could not use the Rudimentary As-You-Wish Dao Fruit to bolster his soul. "The Rudimentary As-You-Wish Dao Fruit? Not a surprise at all." Sensing the change in Daoist Sanshan, Ao Ling let out a contemptuous sneer. She had encountered this kind of rudimentary Dao fruit back in the Xinhuo Dynasty. The greatest flaw of this rudimentary Dao fruit lay in the restrictions on its wishes. Most wishes came from mortals, and mortals would never wish for absurd things like mastering time or controlling space. Incensed by Ao Ling's scornful laughter, Daoist Sanshan unleashed his dragon-subduing technique. The pagoda instantly flared with dazzling brilliance, and grey chains shot out from its base, rapidly coiling toward Ao Ling to bind her, preventing her from escaping whether she enlarged or shrank. "Ancient Ancestor, we have come to assist you!" Seeing this, the Old Dragon Emperor and the other two Dragon Clan Tribulation Transcendence cultivators stepped forward to help Ao Ling. Unexpectedly, Ao Ling reached out with two claws, grabbed the grey chains, and yanked violently, snapping them clean in two. "Enough, enough. Why would I need your help against a mere half-immortal pumped full of faith power?" If Tribulation Transcendence cultivators intervened in a battle between half-immortals, any misstep in coordination could cost them their lives, turning them into burdens instead. Accompanied by a dragon roar, the seawater boiled. As though an undersea volcano had erupted, the entire sea region around the Dragon Palace roiled, and things like seaweed began to catch fire. This was the Dragon Clan's natal True Fire. It could burn underwater and was almost impossible to extinguish; its heat surpassed even Nirvana True Flame. Otherwise, it would not have burned Jiang Lianyi out of her Art of Playing Dead back in the day. Of course, that had also been due to Jiang Lianyi's incomplete mastery at the time; the present Jiang Lianyi was no longer afraid of the flame. The Dragon Clan was born with the power to summon wind and rain, and possessing their natal True Fire to boot, they truly commanded yin and yang and mastered water and fire. Ao Ling clashed with Daoist Sanshan once more. Daoist Sanshan felt immense combat pressure; Ao Ling's dragon claws were practically impervious to all magic, shattering every spell she grasped. Worse still, he sensed that each of Ao Ling's strikes was stronger than the last. Even with the pagoda, he could not withstand the relentless onslaught. "You thought hiding behind a pagoda would keep you safe? Childish to the extreme! Striking through the mountain!" Ao Ling exerted subtle force, driving power straight through the pagoda and striking Daoist Sanshan squarely in the chest. Three bloody claw marks instantly ripped across his chest, and the blood that poured forth bloomed into a dense bloody mist upon contacting the seawater. *I make my wish here: cease strengthening the pagoda, heal my injuries!* Daoist Sanshan's wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Yet as fast as his injuries healed, Ao Ling's attacks came faster. Daoist Sanshan cursed inwardly. He had gotten ahead of himself. Had he known, he would have fled right away instead of putting on airs. Now he couldn't win, and running away was far too humiliating. He had already tried wishing for "the power to control the seas," "the ability to summon wind and rain," "increased luck," and more, but none proved a match for Ao Ling. He could even sense that Ao Ling was growing progressively stronger. While he could put up a fight at first, it had now turned into a one-sided slaughter. *Boom—* Daoist Sanshan attempted to flee the battlefield multiple times, only to be dragged back by Ao Ling each time. In the end, his lower body was shredded by dragon claws, and he plunged into the sea, throwing up a myriad-zhang wave. Ao Ling assumed human form and planted her foot on Daoist Sanshan's face, her expression cold and detached. The outcome was settled. "If I told you I only wanted to seize a body for fun and planned to return it when I was done, would you believe me?" Ao Ling sneered repeatedly. "Guess whether I believe you." Seeing that Ao Ling had no intention of letting him off, Daoist Sanshan screamed at the top of his lungs: "If you don't help me now, I'm going to be beaten to death!" After a moment of dead silence, an elderly, black-faced old man appeared. If possible, he certainly would not have wanted to intervene. The original plan never involved fighting a legendary figure like Ao Ling, to say nothing of Young Cult Master Lu's presence, which signified that the Heavenly Court had taken notice of this place. Though confident he could defeat Ao Ling, he knew he was nowhere near a match for the Heavenly Court. That Young Cult Master Lu had cast a glance toward his hiding spot, so he had likely been discovered; running away was futile. Young Cult Master Lu, who was busy putting on a double act, glanced at the abruptly appearing black-faced old man. The Immortal Fairy had told him earlier that another half-immortal was concealed within the Dragon Palace, presumably Daoist Sanshan's accomplice. Lu Yang suspected the figure was a half-immortal from Great Qian, and that Daoist Sanshan's method of condensing a rudimentary Dao fruit through the power of faith had originated from him.