Chapter 573: The Dragon King of the Three Rivers

The destructive power of three thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards scattered into a city was astonishing. They were all evolvers, leaping over roofs and vaulting over walls was nothing to them, and everyone had opened their spirit mediums; no ghost or monster could hide. Their mere movement provoked fierce resistance from the Incense Gods in the city.

"Who is blind and dares to come to this King's fief to cause trouble?"

A wisp of green smoke shot into the sky from the city, then manifested into a middle-aged man. This man was high-spirited and noble; he was a Prince who had been appointed as an official god after his death, enjoying incense offerings.

Never would he have thought that on this ordinary day, someone would actually come to his door to cause trouble. This was simply absurd.

One had to know that he was a relative of the Emperor, sharing the fate of the dynasty; unless the dynasty met its end, he would always be secure.

"I am the True Person Tai Yi, the current Imperial Preceptor. Today, I lead three thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards, starting from this city, to begin the path of destroying temples and cutting down shrines."

At this moment, Li Yi arrived, stepping on a golden auspicious cloud. He stared at this Incense God and spoke slowly.

"The current Imperial Preceptor, True Person Tai Yi?"

The middle-aged man laughed upon hearing this: "Don't say you are an Imperial Preceptor; even the current Majesty would have to call me Imperial Uncle upon seeing me. Take your people and get out of this city, or else your death will arrive tomorrow."

Li Yi did not speak. His gaze flickered, and in an instant, a streak of silver lightning suddenly struck down. But then, he grabbed it with his bare hands, and heart-fire energy wrapped around it. The originally silver lightning turned completely crimson in an instant.

"You and I have no grudges, but this world cannot accommodate so many Incense Gods, so please, go die."

His expression was cold and indifferent. He didn't explain much, just raised his hand and threw the scorching lightning in his hand.

Boom!

A thunderclap echoed between heaven and earth.

Seeing this, the Incense God's pupils suddenly constricted. He wanted to dodge, but having lived in luxury for countless years, how could he understand how to fight and duel? He didn't even understand what was happening before he was struck by the lightning.

Ah!

A miserable scream echoed. A hideous gash was split open on the Incense God's body, and a vast amount of incense power scattered. A faint fragrance drifted over the entire city, as if sandalwood in a temple had been lit.

And within the split body, the heart-fire energy burned, causing him unbearable pain.

"You, you actually dare to strike me?"

The Incense God was both shocked and enraged, but he was not stupid. Seeing the Embroidered Uniform Guards in the city smashing divine statues everywhere, he began to panic in his heart.

Could it be that the current Emperor really wanted to carry out a world-shaking event?

But how did that brat Zhao Zhao Chenggan dare? Did he not want to be Emperor anymore?

Even if he killed him, how could he kill all the Incense Gods in the world? Could it be he wanted to destroy the Yin Son of Heaven as well? That brat had only been on the throne for ten years, his foundation was not stable. Even if he had trained three thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards, so what? A single powerful Incense God could wipe them all out.

Could it be he was relying on this True Person Tai Yi?

To bet the throne, the national destiny, and his own life on this Daoist—did this Daoist have heaven-reaching abilities that allowed that brat Zhao Zhao Chenggan to stake everything on one throw?

As a Prince who had once participated in the struggle for the throne, this Incense God associated many things from the events happening before his eyes. Because if it were him, he would absolutely not dare to do such a thing. That was why he had been certain this True Person Tai Yi would not dare to do anything to him. But now that he had truly struck, he was completely panicked.

Li Yi couldn't be bothered to explain so much to this Incense God. He just pointed through the air, and a streak of golden light shot out, turning into a flying sword that fell from the sky.

This sword landed on a tall divine statue in the city.

With just one strike, the divine statue turned into dust in an instant.

The divine statue was destroyed, the faith collapsed, and this Incense God could no longer hold on. With a roar, his body exploded on the spot, completely vanishing into smoke.

In less than half an hour, the divine statues in the entire city were destroyed clean. The only ones left were the divine statues of the current Majesty, which were not touched, because destroying temples and cutting down shrines was not about completely cutting off incense, but about concentrating the power of incense belief.

"Although the Embroidered Uniform Guards' efficiency is high, this world is too big. It is impossible to eliminate all the Incense Gods in a short time," Li Yi stood on the golden auspicious cloud, looking calmly into the distance: "The best method is to make a big scene, use myself as bait to lure out those powerful Incense Gods to deal with me, and then settle the matter in one battle."

"As long as most of the powerful Incense Gods are wiped out, the rest will be a matter of course."

Therefore, he was not in a hurry, but quietly waiting for the opportunity to arrive.

About an hour later.

The scattered Embroidered Uniform Guards began to assemble and gather rapidly. Their ability to act was very strong; they had excellently completed the mission.

"Set off, go to the next city." Li Yi unleashed the "Cloud-Stepping" technique again, carrying all the Embroidered Uniform Guards and heading straight for the next city.

Incense becoming gods had another major drawback: temples were all built in densely populated cities. Although there were some Land Temples and Mountain God Temples in the wilderness, those were just small, insignificant gods. Usually, only travelers and mountain folk offered incense, so there wasn't much incense power. Li Yi's action naturally focused on dealing with the big ones.

Therefore, his action was also very simple: circle the world once, specifically targeting those densely populated cities.

Soon.

Li Yi followed the map in his mind and arrived at the second city. This place was named Sanchuan Prefecture, named because three large rivers passed through the city.

What was worshipped here included Princes, River Gods, City Gods, and many famous people from ancient times to the present.

He scattered the three thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards again, then carried the remaining few Golden Pupil Guards to the sky above Sanchuan Prefecture, sensing the aura of heaven and earth, just waiting for powerful Incense Gods to manifest.

And this city was truly not simple.

A spirit monster had appeared in the large river; it was a crocodile that had become a spirit, known as the Dragon King of the Three Rivers. There were several Dragon King Temples, accepting incense offerings from passing ships and the people of the city. However, this spirit monster did not belong to the official gods of the imperial court; it was just that because it was powerful and its ambition was not large, the imperial court had ignored it.

When the Embroidered Uniform Guards were destroying the Dragon King Temples, this crocodile spirit did not show itself at first. It was only when the third Dragon King Temple was destroyed that the crocodile spirit finally could not endure it, stirring up waves, blowing fierce winds, and gathering dark clouds, intending to kill the Embroidered Uniform Guards who were smashing the temples.

Although the Embroidered Uniform Guards were at the Spirit Perception Realm, they appeared small and powerless when facing a spirit monster that had obtained incense.

On the large river, waves dozens of meters high rolled up, attempting to swallow the Embroidered Uniform Guards on the shore.

Yet the next moment.

Above the sky, a brilliant fist light struck, accompanied by the sound of dragon roars and tiger howls. The waves dozens of meters high instantly rolled back, and at the same time, the river water was stained with blood. A huge black figure exploded out of the water.

A crocodile with a huge body, like a flood dragon, was stranded on the shore. A fist mark was left on its back, smashing its spine. Fresh blood sprayed, and its aura withered instantly.

Although it was very strong.

But unfortunately, it had encountered Li Yi, who was even stronger. With just one strike, it had been defeated.

"What a large crocodile. Is this the Dragon King of the Three Rivers?"

An Embroidered Uniform Guard Company Commander saw this strange beast and couldn't help but have his eyelids twitch, feeling exceptionally amazed.

"Don't delay the time. The True Person Tai Yi is watching from the sky. Quickly finish the errand," other Embroidered Uniform Guards urged from the side.

They didn't go to watch the show; once they saw the crisis had passed, they immediately smashed the last Dragon King statue, followed by quickly retreating from here, along the way destroying the Land Temple as well.

"I am the Dragon King of the Three Rivers. I have not committed evil in normal times; on the contrary, I have helped the imperial court calm river disasters and manage floods. Why kill me today?" At this moment, the light of the primordial spirit accompanied by incense aura shot into the sky. The giant crocodile manifested its true form, which was actually a young man in his early thirties with delicate features.

This man was filled with indignation, glaring at Li Yi, feeling great injustice.

Incense gods could exist in this world for so long; naturally, it was impossible for all of them to be bad. Since they wanted to obtain the incense of the people, naturally they needed to do something for the people; otherwise, why would they be worth worshipping?

"Sorry." Li Yi's expression was calm; at this moment, he actually apologized.

The Dragon King of the Three Rivers was bewildered at this moment.

Why was this suddenly arrived enemy so polite?

But Li Yi immediately said: "This matter is my fault. You might be innocent, but this matter involves the struggle for incense in the world. I can only kill the wrong ones rather than let any slip through. If you had hidden in the deep mountains and old forests, I might have let you go, but your Dragon King Temples are spread all over Sanchuan Prefecture, already affecting the incense attribution of the imperial court. So today, there is only destruction."

"So that's how it is. Is the imperial court going to enter the field to fight for incense?"

The Dragon King of the Three Rivers was not a dull person; he immediately understood what was going on. He looked at his severely injured body, the smashed divine statues, and the unscrupulous Embroidered Uniform Guards in the city; clearly, this was under imperial order and not their own initiative.

"Daoist, can you give me a chance? I am willing to surrender and help the imperial court conquer the Incense Gods of the world. Although your strength is powerful, Daoist, your manpower is insufficient. I am willing to exhaust my strength to exchange for a glimmer of survival."

He took a deep breath, immediately bowed and folded his hands, bending down to submit to Li Yi.

A spirit monster that had lived for hundreds of years—what had he not experienced? He naturally understood that under the general trend, how could he, a local Dragon King, dare to disobey? Only by following the trend and surrendering was the right path.

Li Yi was startled, then began to ponder.

An Incense God surrendering—this point was not in the previous plan. However, these words of the Dragon King of the Three Rivers also reminded him.

This world was very large, and the Dao of incense was deeply rooted in people's hearts. It was impossible to wipe out all the Incense Gods; some still had to be left, which would also help the stability of the world.

Thinking of this.

Li Yi nodded at this moment: "Good. Seeing you are so sincere, I grant you surrender. From now on, follow by this True Person's side, follow me to destroy temples and cut down shrines, and conquer the Incense Gods of the world. If the task is successful, there will be no lack of a position as an official Dragon King for you in the future. If there is any dissent, you will be executed without mercy."

"Thank you, True Person." The Dragon King of the Three Rivers let out a long sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Regardless of anything else, his life was saved; as for other matters, wait until later to talk about them.

"Evil Daoist Tai Yi, I am the Marquis of Guan Nei appointed by the late Emperor. You dare to destroy my temple? Cut off my incense? You are courting death." But the next moment, another heaven-shaking roar sounded, and a wisp of incense green smoke wrapped around a person. With red eyes, he held a coiled dragon staff and killed his way over.

That was Wu Jin, Marquis of Guan Nei. After his death, he was appointed as an official god, enjoying nearly a hundred years of incense offerings. Now that his temple had been destroyed by someone, how could he endure it? He immediately killed his way out.

Seeing this, Li Yi did not say much. He stepped on the auspicious cloud, turned into a streak of golden light, and killed his way out instantly.

Boom.

A thunderous sound echoed in heaven and earth. This Marquis of Guan Nei had his body exploded on the spot, incense scattered, and divine sense flew everywhere.

"With this little strength, you dare to come and kill me?" Li Yi shouted, clenching his fist and stepping on the air. He was draped in lightning, his whole body wrapped in dragon and tiger energy, filled with murderous intent.

Such a scene made the Dragon King of the Three Rivers not far away feel his heart jump with fear.

This Daoist's strength was truly terrifying. He hadn't used his full strength when dealing with him earlier; otherwise, his true form would definitely have been exploded on the spot just like Wu Jin, Marquis of Guan Nei. ===== CHAPTER 574 =====