Chapter 539: City-Guarding God

The Earth God statue was destroyed, and that Earth God was immediately implicated. The power of belief on his body instantly collapsed and disintegrated, along with the spiritual energy around him. The once tall and majestic figure now withered rapidly, revealing a soul that was not very strong.

"Ah!"

The Earth God let out a miserable scream and fell from mid-air. Although he wasn't injured, he was in great pain.

"So that's how it is. If the statue is destroyed, the belief collapses, and the strength decreases sharply. Moreover, without the addition of belief, the soul is exposed to heaven and earth, suffering from wind and sun, and will also be harmed. Incense becoming divinity is truly an extreme path of cultivation. It can allow an ordinary soul to leap into a small minor god and exist long in heaven and earth, but it can also cause one's cultivation to dissipate in a day, falling into the ordinary."

Li Yi observed that Earth God, and a realization dawned on him once more.

"You wild Daoist, you dare to destroy my Earth Temple. You are finished, you are finished. I will go to the City God and report you, ensuring you don't live past tonight." The Earth God roared, then turned and fled without hesitation, flying toward the direction of Xinzhou City.

But this mountain god hadn't flown far.

Suddenly.

Rumble!

A silver lightning bolt appeared out of thin air, tearing through his soul instantly, shattering the belief and spiritual energy he had added to his body. The soul hidden within could not withstand the strike of the lightning and turned to ash, leaving only a strand of rich incense Qi lingering everywhere.

"Still want to report me? Isn't this forcing me to cut the weeds and dig up the roots?" Li Yi shook his head slightly, feeling that this Earth God's intelligence wasn't very high; perhaps his brain had been smoked by incense.

But from the Earth God's words just now, it wasn't hard to judge that in the city, there were even more powerful incense gods.

However, Li Yi felt that if one were to talk about the power of incense belief in this world, no mountain god or earth god could compare to the Emperor in the imperial court.

So, judging from this aspect, could it be that the Emperor's strength was the strongest?

"Forget it, don't think about it so much, go to the city and see."

Li Yi didn't pay any more attention to this Earth Temple. He walked along the main road, unhurriedly, toward the direction of a city in the distance.

"Daoist priest, wait a moment."

Seeing Li Yi about to leave, Old Liu hurriedly ran over. He stuffed a package into Li Yi's hand and said: "Daoist priest, you protected us out of the mountains all the way. I have nothing to repay you with, so I bought you some fresh wheat cakes and filled a flask with herbal tea for you to eat on the road."

Li Yi looked at it, somewhat surprised, and smiled: "No need for this. As a practitioner of the Dao, I am used to sleeping in the open and eating in the wind."

"Daoist, I hope you don't mind this coarse food and simple fare. After parting ways with you this time, I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to see a person of such high standing again in this lifetime. But being able to travel a stretch of the road with you, I can consider this life not lived in vain," Old Liu said with a smile.

Seeing this, Li Yi took an elixir from his Five Elements Bracelet and gave it to Old Liu: "This is an elixir I ate when I practiced martial arts in the past. It can strengthen a person's Qi and blood. You are not young, and your Qi and blood are declining severely. This elixir can nourish back a portion of your Qi and blood; consider it a parting gift from me."

This was a Qi and Blood Elixir from the Four Seas and Eight Continents.

Although for a martial artist, the Qi and Blood Elixir didn't have a particularly great effect, for an ordinary person, it was a rare treasure.

"This, how can this be?" Old Liu was flattered.

"It's fine, this is also not a valuable elixir; just accept it with peace of mind. I hope I can meet you again next time I pass through here." Li Yi said with a smile, then bid farewell to Old Liu.

Old Liu was filled with gratitude and bowed repeatedly toward the direction Li Yi left. After he had gone far away, he didn't care about the strange looks from others and hurriedly ate the elixir. He knew that this elixir had already been eyed by others; if he didn't eat it, it would only invite disaster.

After the Qi and Blood Elixir went down, he felt his whole body warm, a powerful Qi and blood rushing through his body, then filling his internal organs. His whole person felt an indescribable comfort, and even his legs felt more energetic, as if he had become several years younger.

However, the medicinal effect of the Qi and Blood Elixir could only last for a month. How much of Old Liu's Qi and blood could be nourished back after a month was unknown.

Li Yi wasn't stingy; it was just that from Old Liu's status, one Qi and Blood Elixir was already the limit he could bear. Any more, and he would either be unable to absorb it, or it would invite a fatal disaster. He had known this bit of common sense back in the Four Seas and Eight Continents.

The group separated at the Mountain God Temple.

Some stayed, some rested, and some were picked up by relatives and friends.

Li Yi was relaxed and at ease alone. He walked alone, moving forward, observing the cultural customs of this world.

And the travelers who passed by were quite polite upon seeing he was a Daoist priest. Some merchants even invited him to ride in their carriages, but he refused them all. However, it could be seen that the Daoist priests of this world seemed to have a certain status and were quite respected.

But thinking about it, it made sense.

This world had ghosts and monsters, so naturally, it needed people to subdue demons. And he estimated that besides mountain gods and earth gods, the only ones with the ability to subdue demons were Daoist priests.

"So, besides incense becoming divinity, are there other cultivation methods?" Li Yi thought to himself.

The further he went, the more people there were on the road.

At the same time, Li Yi also saw some villages appearing on both sides of the road, and in the distance, the outline of a city gradually appeared before his eyes. Just by looking with his eyes, he saw that the sky above the city was shrouded by a layer of invisible power. The belief of the masses was added to it, like a large net, firmly protecting the city.

And the city was square; if viewed from high altitude, it looked like a seal stamped on the vast earth, suppressing all directions.

This power was very unique, protecting the common people of one side and also isolating some ghosts and monsters from approaching the city.

"Under the addition of the belief power of ten thousand people, this city is no longer just a city, but more like a magic treasure. If this power could be mobilized, that would truly be incredible. And this is just one city." Li Yi sighed inwardly, feeling that he should re-examine the power level of this world.

If the power of ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers were all gathered together, that would truly be terrifying.

And the only one with the ability to do this was the Emperor.

"So to cultivate in this world, one must be the Emperor; otherwise, everything is just empty talk." Li Yi didn't know why such a thought appeared in his mind.

Because this power was too tempting.

No one would refuse the dual temptation of supreme power and supreme strength.

As long as one sat on that dragon chair, the belief of the people of the world would be added to oneself. What couldn't be done? What couldn't be achieved?

"So in this world, I have to rebel?" Li Yi thought to himself.

But soon, he shook his head and gave up.

Rebellion would cause many people to die. He didn't want to become the kind of naturally evil person mentioned in the Dao coins, killing countless commoners for his own sake. Moreover, his cultivation path wasn't just this one.

He walked for another stretch.

Li Yi soon arrived under this city.

At the entrance of the city, several statues were placed on the left and right. Those statues held axes, knives, and swords, their eyes wide open in anger, like yakshas and evil ghosts, looking very fierce. Every person passing by would be stared at by these statues, making one feel a bit creepy and scary. But Li Yi saw that one of those statues was a living thing.

A god was truly residing in it. That god, wearing armor and holding a bronze mace, was patrolling every person entering the city, seemingly to prevent any demons or evil spirits from mixing into the city.

And these statues also had a long history, at least a hundred years.

"Where did this Daoist come from? Do you have a document or a travel permit?" When Li Yi walked over, he saw the god in the statue leap out, landing in front of him and blocking his path.

"I am a mountain Daoist; where would I have any document or travel permit?" Li Yi shook his head.

The statue said: "If you don't have one, this god cannot let you enter the city."

Li Yi was a bit puzzled. How could these gods tell at a glance that he was a practitioner and carry out a precise interception? He had clearly restrained his aura and usually only channeled his Qi and blood.

"Can't you make an exception? I'll just stay in the city for a few days and then leave."

"No. The imperial court has already issued an order: Daoists are not allowed to enter the city to avoid some Daoists with impure motives from bewitching the people and starting riots." The god holding the bronze mace shook his head.

Li Yi said: "The imperial court can even give orders to you gods?"

"Of course. This general is a city-guarding god appointed by the imperial court. I have a divine position and naturally must listen to the imperial court and obey the edict. You Daoist, stop asking questions here. This god still has to guard the city. You leave quickly, or this god's bronze mace won't be polite." The god holding the bronze mace said.

"Ask you one more question: how do I get a document or travel permit?" Li Yi said.

"The government office in the city has people responsible for issuing documents and travel permits." The god said.

Li Yi said: "Good fellow, you can't enter the city without a document or travel permit, and you can't get a document or travel permit without entering the city. Isn't this imperial court bullying honest people?"

The city-guarding god snorted heavily and didn't explain.

"I won't make things difficult for you today. Let me pass, and we'll mind our own business. Otherwise, I'll break into the city and see if you ghosts and gods can stop me." Li Yi didn't ask any more questions and, ignoring the obstruction of the god in front of him, walked toward the city with long strides.

The city-guarding god was furious and truly swung the bronze mace toward Li Yi's forehead.

Li Yi didn't even lift his head, just used a dragon-tiger Qi to protect his body.

Roar.

A silver, colorful tiger appeared, wrapped around his body, and with a roar, resisted the strike of the bronze mace and then suppressed the city-guarding god.

"This is..." The bronze mace in the city-guarding god's hand almost flew out of his grip. He saw the dragon and tiger coiling around Li Yi and his expression changed greatly.

A mere mountain Daoist—how could he have the Son of Heaven's Qi? ===== CHAPTER 540 =====