Causality Collection

"At forty-eight, the encounter began; the imparted secrets brought immediate effect.

A single golden pellet, its color ever brighter, shines crimson upon Jade Blossom Peak."

A vigorous and powerful voice echoed in his ears as an ethereal figure approached from afar and entered Jiang Li's body.

Instantly, a current of Qi surged through his entire body like a tide, washing over his flesh, blood, muscles, and bones. Jiang Li felt Qi burst forth, sweat pouring from his whole body, and even a cloud of steam rose from the top of his head.

His vision became exceptionally clear. Everything within his sight, down to the finest hair, was visible; even tiny specks of dust could be seen with perfect clarity.

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Li had undergone a complete transformation.

[Seeking Return to Truth: Perfection in both cultivation and conduct, a righteous heart and sincere intent. The mind is clear, the body unimpeded, making one resistant to external demonic interference.]

[Dual Cultivation of Nature and Life-Essence: Nature refers to Spirit; Life-Essence refers to Qi. When Nature meets Life-Essence, it is like a bird catching the wind—effortlessly soaring, easily achieving success. The three fundamentals—Essence, Qi, and Spirit—are balanced and mutually reinforcing.]

[Unification of the Three Teachings: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism are interconnected; the Three Teachings stem from a single origin. The broader one's knowledge of the Three Teachings, the more profound their understanding of their respective cultivation methods, with Daoist techniques being the most significantly enhanced.]

The original Daoist abilities were [Clear Dao Heart] for maintaining a calm state of mind and [Daoist Arts Mastery] for enhancing comprehension of Daoist techniques. These two abilities are now encompassed by [Seeking Return to Truth] and [Unification of the Three Teachings] respectively, and there's even the additional ability [Dual Cultivation of Nature and Life-Essence].

Just a glance at these abilities revealed an aura of overwhelming power.

Strong and powerful, indeed.

Because Jiang Li primarily focused on magical arts, his Spirit and Qi elements were stronger than his Essence element. Now, the three elements are balanced. This wasn't achieved by weakening the stronger elements to bolster the weaker one, but rather by using the Dao Fruit's power to elevate his Essence element, making it no weaker than that of fellow disciples who accommodated the Heavenly Soldier Dao Fruit.

"Wahahahaha!"

Seeing this, Jiang Li let out a burst of hearty laughter. His right hand slipped into his sleeve and pulled out a row of talismans.

Giant Strength Talisman, Spirit Protection Talisman, Rejuvenation Talisman, Wind Repelling Talisman, Divine Movement Talisman, and also reapplying the already broken Vajra Talisman.

Refined True Qi surged through his meridians like river water, yet as it reached his fingertips, it transformed into fine threads, shooting into each talisman.

His mind was now perfectly clear, and his control over True Qi could be described as meticulous down to the finest detail. It was as if, like that Quanzhen Sect Founder oppa, his spirit, body, and innate talent were now fundamentally different.

With ten talismans active, Jiang Li pushed off the ground with one foot, shooting towards Zhou Mingyun like a sharp arrow. The force of his movement tore through the fire cloud, delivering his heat signature directly into his opponent's perception.

Zhou Mingyun, crouched on the ground, instantly sprang forward like a striking viper. The cold glint in his hand stabbed out like a snake's fang, but Jiang Li swatted his wrist aside with a backhand strike and landed a heavy palm strike squarely on his chest.

'Chasing Wind Palm.'

Zhou Mingyun recognized the technique through his heat sense. It was one of the Dinghu Sect's fundamental entry-level skills, known primarily for its agility and variations. However, in Jiang Li's hands, the palm strike was both swift and fierce, its momentum like a surging river, powerful and relentless.

Bang!

As the palm struck, fine, dense snake-scale patterns appeared on Zhou Mingyun's skin, dispersing some of the force, yet he was still sent flying backward by the blow.

"How can you be so strong?" Zhou Mingyun couldn't help but cry out.

He had already manifested the snake patterns for protection. In terms of defense, it was definitely not inferior to a successfully mastered body-hardening martial art, and it also possessed the flexibility of a snake. Yet, he was still sent flying by a mere Chasing Wind Palm.

This didn't make sense!

"Of course, it's because I worked hard enough," Jiang Li laughed heartily, advancing swiftly. He threw a punch like an arrow, the force amplified by the Giant Strength Talisman creating an explosive sound.

Zhou Mingyun quickly whipped his head, his hair stiffening like needles and sweeping towards Jiang Li like a mace, only to be completely blocked by the multiple layers of defense surrounding Jiang Li's body.

This punch contained two and a half years of effort!

Thud!

Zhou Mingyun was once again sent flying uncontrollably, but Jiang Li caught his wrist with a grappling technique, yanked him around, and slammed him violently against the cliff face.

Bang!

Zhou Mingyun felt his internal organs churn violently. His mouth gaped open, tongue lolling out extremely far, his face contorted in pain.

Jiang Li, however, prepared to strike again.

"Wait, my uncle is—"

Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam—

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Li subjected him to a flurry of throws, slamming the man in his grasp until he was dead, continuing until the corpse was a mangled mess of flesh and blood before finally stopping, panting.

"I know you're a distant relative of Outer Sect Elder Sun, but what does that have to do with me?" Jiang Li released his grip, and the talismanic glow around his body faded.

There's no room for holding back in a life-and-death battle. Never mind a distant relative of an outer sect elder; even if it were the Sect Master's son, Jiang Li would kill him first and deal with the consequences later.

Besides, since Zhou Mingyun was officially wanted, it meant Elder Sun wasn't influential enough to protect him. So what if he killed him?

His actions were entirely in accordance with sect law. Even killing Zhou Mingyun was justified because Zhou Mingyun resisted enforcement. Could Elder Sun possibly put him on the wanted list too?

Jiang Li curled his lip and looked down at the ground.

At that moment, a faint luster appeared on Zhou Mingyun's corpse. The phantom image of a python coiled like a snake formation slowly emerged, then transformed into light and entered the dagger still clutched in Zhou Mingyun's hand.

Jiang Li shifted his gaze to the dagger. It was entirely porcelain-white, not appearing to be made of metal, looking exactly like the tooth of a giant snake.

He picked up the dagger and focused his mind, attempting to communicate with it. The phantom image of the python appeared in his mind, and information about the Dao Fruit presented itself in a way Jiang Li could understand.

[Rank 9 Dao Fruit: Long Snake

Category: Demon

Compatibility Requirement: A greedy and cruel heart

Advancement Ritual: Within seven days, consume 100 jin [approx. 110 lbs/50 kg] of raw meat from beasts such as tigers, deer, and sheep, then sleep deeply for three days

Abilities: Long Snake of a Hundred Xun, Mane Like Boar Bristles]

Although he hadn't accommodated the Dao Fruit and couldn't truly understand its abilities, viewing the information allowed him to infer the general idea.

The Illustrated Praises of the Classic of Mountains and Seas - Long Snake states: "The long snake measures a hundred xun; its mane is like that of a boar. Flying flocks and running beasts, none escape its maw."

Zhou Mingyun's tenacity, taking so long to die even after being thrown around, was likely due to the Dao Fruit ability [Long Snake of a Hundred Xun]. The other ability must have been the reason his hair could stiffen.

It's said the Long Snake can grow up to three hundred meters—a hundred xun—and has bristles like a boar. By accommodating the Dao Fruit, Zhou Mingyun naturally gained significant enhancements in related aspects. If Jiang Li hadn't advanced, defeating him would have been truly difficult.

"Demon-category Dao Fruits are indeed as simple to advance with as the rumors say, but this advancement ritual..." Jiang Li wore an expression of disgust.

This kind of advancement method was truly unacceptable; just thinking about it was nauseating.

Moreover, if Jiang Li wasn't mistaken, this Dao Fruit would intensify one's greed and cruelty, causing the user's disposition to continuously lean towards that of a demon. The reason Zhou Mingyun committed his crimes was precisely because he robbed people of their possessions and took lives.

Easy advancement but significant side effects—that was a common issue with Demon-category Dao Fruits.

Jiang Li gripped the dagger and looked at the book that only he could see.

An ancient-looking, quaint book was automatically flipping through its pages, from beginning to end. Then it snapped shut, and on its yellow cover, three large characters gradually materialized.

—Causality Collection.

The diary finally had a name. At the same time, a stream of information entered Jiang Li's mind, causing an expression of sudden understanding to appear on his face.

After two and a half years since crossing over, his 'golden finger' had finally activated properly.

In addition to solidifying causality—ensuring Jiang Li's efforts yielded results and preventing regression—the Causality Collection now had the ability to rewrite causality.

The Causality Collection normally recorded Jiang Li's experiences, but it was actually collecting 'causality points'. The broader the impact of Jiang Li's actions, the more causality points it collected.

These causality points could be used when encountering a 'causal imprint,' rewriting its causality and transforming it into a different form.

Just like how the 'Daoist' Dao Fruit became 'Daoist · Wang Chongyang.' Both were Rank 9, and the latter was still considered a Daoist, but it was far stronger than the original. Not only did it have an extra ability, but its effects were also comprehensively superior.

'So, Dao Fruits are some kind of causal imprint? And it only formally activated when I accommodated my Dao Fruit... This Causality Collection seems to be something from this world, not my transmigrator cheat. Was it already with me before I 'awakened'?

'But Wang Chongyang isn't a figure from this world; I'm the only one here who knows he exists. So, does the Dao Fruit transformation rely on my memories?'

'Ah, forget it. No point overthinking it. Since it's useful, I'll just use it for now.'

Jiang Li stared intently at the Causality Collection for a good while before lowering his gaze. 'At least, for now, if I want to survive and establish myself in this world, I can only rely on this.'

He didn't have a System, or an encyclopedic knowledge base in his head, or a wise old mentor figure accompanying him. Having any cheat at all was already pretty good.

Investigating the origins of the Causality Collection wasn't something he should be concerned with right now.

'It's just that my approach will have to change a bit going forward. Besides focusing on survival [Gou Ming], I also need to collect causality points. Of course, collecting causality points should only be done when divination indicates it's favorable.'

If he hadn't performed divination beforehand this time, Jiang Li might have walked right into Zhou Mingyun's deadly ambush.

Divination truly is a skill tailor-made for the path of survival [Gou Dao].

Having made up his mind, Jiang Li used the snake-fang dagger to sever Zhou Mingyun's head. He then found his yellow horse, which had run off, retrieved quicklime from the saddlebag, and properly preserved the head.

He might be lacking in other things, but never quicklime and talismans. He always prepared a large supply every time he went out.

After finishing all this, Jiang Li mounted his horse, humming a tune as he returned to the sect.