Chapter 387

390. Chapter 390: Summoning Surrender

Following the eruption of the Feathered Serpent's poison, over a dozen ghosts and gods perished one after another in extreme events. This massive contrast exceeded everyone's expectations. Clearly, when the ghosts and gods had revealed their Dharma forms earlier, they were incomparably majestic, as if they were destroying the world. Who could have imagined that such might would only last for less than a minute before the ghosts and gods let out miserable screams and suddenly died?

This change happened so quickly that even the four great families watching the battle within Sanyang City did not react, and they could not even understand what was happening.

But they knew that those crumbling Dharma forms represented the demise of the ghosts and gods.

Regardless, this was good news.

Accompanied by the final miserable scream echoing, yet another ghost and god had its body crumble, following in the footsteps of the others and dying miserably on the spot. At present, only four ghosts and gods remained standing between heaven and earth; the rest had all perished. The reason these four ghosts and gods were still alive was simple: they had not been injured earlier and had not been contaminated by the Feathered Serpent's poison.

But what did it matter now whether they were poisoned or not?

With only four left, how could they join forces to fight and kill Li Yi?

This was a losing, fatal situation.

Therefore, at this moment, the four Dharma forms were stuck; they couldn't attack, and they couldn't not attack. They were suddenly frozen in place. Even having lived for a thousand years, they did not know what to do at this moment.

Fleeing was perhaps the only choice at this moment.

But who dared to run first?

Whoever fled first would definitely be targeted by Li Yi and destroyed with thunderous means. The others might be able to take advantage of the situation, but that was all; whether they could escape in the end was still hard to say.

Li Yi now saw the thoughts of the remaining four ghosts and gods. He swept his silver slit pupils and said, "The ghosts and gods of the Four Seas and Bazhou have already been mostly wiped out by me. You also know that even if four Dharma forms join forces, you cannot kill me. Conversely, after one strike, it is hard to say how much longer you can survive. Instead of a meaningless fight to the death, it would be better to surrender to me. In the future, you will be at my beck and call, and I can leave you a path to survive."

At this moment, he had the idea of summoning a surrender.

Because Li Yi felt that the countless Yin soldiers, Yin generals, and even Yin gods of the Four Seas and Bazhou were best managed by a ghost or god to avoid chaos in the future. At the same time, driving ghosts and gods was also beneficial for his own work.

"Surrender to you? It's nothing more than death either way. In a thousand years, what haven't we experienced? The only thing we haven't done is bow down and submit to a human." One ghost and god glared angrily.

The other three ghosts and gods remained silent.

They were all overlords of a thousand years, ruling the Four Seas and Bazhou. How could they be willing to submit to a young martial artist just to save their lives?

Li Yi said, "Living like this, neither human nor ghost, relying entirely on absorbing Yang lifespan to hang onto a breath of life—is such a life very enjoyable? The Four Seas and Bazhou are too small to contain you, but the outside world is different. Heaven and earth are vast, and you can continue your martial path. Moreover, my strength is greater than yours. Submitting to me is not shameful."

"The body has long since decayed, with only the divine soul remaining. What is there to talk about continuing the path ahead?" Another ghost and god sneered.

Li Yi said, "Wouldn't it be enough to just change into another body?"

"Do you think we haven't tried? If it's not one's own body, it cannot carry the body of a ghost and god. Either the divine soul is damaged, or the body is incompatible, and the physical body rots," the third ghost and god said.

Clearly, these ghosts and gods had long since tried the matter of possessing and seizing human bodies.

Just as Teacher Lin Yue and Zhang Songlin had said back then, possession could not choose a living person, otherwise, it would damage the soul. Unexpectedly, besides this, there was also a situation where the body and soul were incompatible and the physical body rotted.

"I can make your original bodies grow back," Li Yi subsequently said.

He had a Life Cradle in his hands and could reshape bodies.

"What?" Once these words were spoken, the four ghosts and gods were immediately shocked.

Li Yi said, "I have already been very sincere. If it weren't for the fact that there are still places where you are useful, I would have already wiped you all out together. I have already given the conditions: surrender, or die?"

At this moment, the four ghosts and gods looked at each other.

Although they were not sure if Li Yi's words were true or false, it gave them hope, a way out.

If they were to be ignorant of what was good for them again, they would truly perish right here.

If one can live, why seek death?

The ghost and god who had previously preferred death over surrender immediately dispersed its Dharma form and then immediately revealed its original appearance. That was a withered, bald old man. At this moment, without saying a word, he immediately knelt down before Li Yi with a thud: "Ghost and God Cuiyue, willing to surrender."

The remaining three ghosts and gods couldn't help but twitch their mouths when they saw Cuiyue surrender so smoothly.

You were the one who fought the fiercest just now, right?

"Very good," Li Yi nodded and said.

Seeing this scene, the other three ghosts and gods also sighed in their hearts, dispersed their Dharma forms, and no longer fought to the death. Instead, they all revealed their forms, walked over, and knelt before Li Yi.

"Ghost and God Jianshan, willing to surrender."

"Ghost and God Zifeng, willing to surrender."

"Ghost and God Hanshan, willing to surrender."

These four ghosts and gods all surrendered.

Li Yi said, "Since you have surrendered, you must serve me in the future. If you rebel, you will not escape death."

"Naturally," the four ghosts and gods responded with a bit of helplessness.

Li Yi said, "I will also fulfill the promise I made earlier. If you want to restore your bodies, you can hand over your remains from before you died, and I will recreate a new body for you."

Once these words were spoken, the four ghosts and gods were all stunned.

Was Li Yi playing for real?

Previously, they had only thought that Li Yi was painting an ethereal pie to give them a way out so they would surrender. Could he really help them recreate their bodies? This, how could this be possible? "O-our bodies have been rotting for a thousand years, can they still be useful?" the bald old man Cuiyue said in astonishment.

They had all personally buried their own bodies. Although they had built underground palaces and mausoleums and protected their bodies quite well, after a thousand years, no matter how well protected, the bodies could no longer be used. Being able to not rot was already considered quite good.

"As long as the remains are still there and haven't been burned into ashes, it will work," Li Yi said. "Do you think I'm just talking casually?"

"My remains are sealed in the Extreme North, in a piece of ten-thousand-year black ice in an underground palace." The bald old man Cuiyue was both surprised and happy, feeling how correct his decision back then had been. He hadn't expected that he would really have a moment to see the light of day again.

"I am buried deep in a large mountain, and my body is left inside a golden coffin, which is filled with dragon blood resin, not rotting for a thousand years," Ghost and God Jianshan also said.

Ghost and God Zifeng said, "My remains are under the East Sea, inside a thousand-year giant clam. The giant clam wraps my remains, turning into a human pearl, immortal for ten thousand years."

Once these words were spoken, the others looked at Zifeng. They hadn't expected that Zifeng had actually thought of such a special method to preserve its remains.

"My body is left inside a jade coffin, and the jade coffin is placed under the village that raised me, which is now a barren mountain," Ghost and God Hanshan said.

These ghosts and gods, although they had survived for a long time, had also kept their bodies from before they died quite well. After all, with their strength, what couldn't they get before they died? Naturally, they would seek out a burial place for themselves early on. And looking at their means, even after a thousand years had passed, their remains were still well-preserved.

Although the vitality was gone and they couldn't be resurrected, Li Yi didn't want vitality, but the genes within the body. As long as the genes were extracted, the Life Cradle could play its role.

"Work for me, be at my beck and call, and give me your remains. After a suitable time, I can return a vibrant, young body to you, allowing you to continue your path ahead," Li Yi said. "So this is a transaction. You are all thousand-year-old human spirits. Talking about loyalty with you is like taking off your pants to fart. I just want you to do things for me, nothing more."

The four ghosts and gods were all silent upon hearing this.

"Your first task now is to control the Yin soldier army, withdraw from this place, and then collect the relics of the dead ghosts and gods. Send all their relics to my mansion in Sanyang City. In addition, spread today's news. There must be other hidden ghosts and gods in the Four Seas and Bazhou who didn't come. Tell them that if they are willing to rely on me, I can recreate bodies for you and let you live another life."

Li Yi arranged the tasks.

The four ghosts and gods agreed, immediately allocated the tasks, and then Ghost and God Jianshan said, "If such conditions had been given at the beginning, perhaps this battle could have been avoided. There is no ghost or god who is not willing to live another life."

Li Yi sneered: "Without absolute force to defeat the ghosts and gods, would you have been able to surrender so peacefully? Do I need to repeat the principle of killing a chicken to warn the monkeys? Moreover, I don't need so many ghosts and gods to do things for me."

Several ghosts and gods felt a chill in their hearts, and then thought that it was also true.

Previously, they were not in awe of Li Yi, but after a great battle, they thoroughly admitted that Li Yi's strength and means were far superior to their own.

Some things can only be understood after experiencing them yourself.

Only when afraid can one be peaceful.

If Li Yi hadn't used such ruthless means to kill over a dozen ghosts and gods, how could he have won the heartfelt submission of these four ghosts and gods, and how could he have made others believe that he could suppress the Bazhou?

"Go, get it done as soon as possible, don't make me wait too long," Li Yi said.

Subsequently, the four ghosts and gods cupped their hands and bowed, then scattered and left.

One ghost and god forcefully controlled the army, killing any Yin god who did not obey orders, then seized control of this Yin soldier army, and then led the troops away.

The other three ghosts and gods went far away to collect the relics of the other dead ghosts and gods.

With a thousand years of accumulation, every ghost and god had accumulated massive wealth. At this moment, returning it all to Li Yi would definitely benefit Li Yi greatly.

As the ghosts, gods, and Yin soldiers dispersed.

The anomaly in the sky also disappeared. At the same time, a trace of white light appeared on the distant horizon.

The night ended, and it was dawn.

Li Yi took a look and turned around to return to the city. No bones were left on the spot, only a collapsed city wall and a patch of collapsed houses.

It was hard to imagine that this short battle had already changed the Four Seas and Bazhou, with the ghosts and gods exiting the stage.

"It's over?"

The most surprised were the experts of the four great families above the mansion. They had originally thought that an earth-shattering battle would break out, but they never expected that as those ghost and god Dharma forms collapsed, this battle would subside just like that. The ghosts and gods died inexplicably, and at the same time, Li Yi also seemed to have won inexplicably.

Could this be what is called the mandate of heaven?

Before everyone could reflect.

They saw Li Yi facing the rosy clouds, arriving through the air, his whole body interwoven with silver radiance, as if a true god had descended into the world.

Everyone who saw Li Yi had only panic and awe in their eyes.

This was a person who had ended the era of ghosts and gods by his own strength.

The only one in a thousand years.

From today on, whether it was the four great families or other martial artists of the Four Seas and Bazhou, they all had to admit that the person before them was the common master of the world. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before the story of Li Yi would also become a legend circulating everywhere.