Chapter 575: The God of Taihu Lake

Taiyue City.

Li Yi spent three days and three nights traveling from the capital, destroying temples and cutting down shrines until he arrived here. He stopped advancing and stayed here, letting the three thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards eat, drink, and rest.

The local officials did not dare to be negligent and did their best to entertain them.

Although the capital's situation was turbulent, in the eyes of the Taiyue City officials, the True Person Tai Yi was the Imperial Preceptor of the current dynasty, and the three thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards he led were the Emperor's personal guards. How could they neglect such a big figure? Although Li Yi had destroyed temples and shrines upon arrival and killed several Incense Gods, such major imperial court matters were not something local officials could influence.

At this moment, in a Prince's mansion in Taiyue City.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathered, and at the same time, brilliant beams of light shot into the sky, absorbing the spiritual energy of the firmament, refining it, and finally turning it into a mysterious black light that gathered toward the main hall inside the Prince's mansion.

The main hall was empty, with several Golden Pupil Guards guarding the surroundings, forbidding anyone from approaching.

"No matter how many times I see it, this kind of cultivation phenomenon is always astonishing." Golden Pupil Guard Wang Ning looked up at the sky with a pair of pale golden pupils.

In the eyes of ordinary people, the sky was perfectly normal, with ten thousand miles of starry sky and bright moonlight. But in the eyes of cultivators, the sky within a few hundred miles of Taiyue City had changed color. Red clouds were steaming, golden light was crisscrossing, and green precious light was reflecting. The three colors intertwined, beautiful and moving, like the aurora, making one fascinated.

But the appearance of these three colors was not just for show; it was the transformation of heaven and earth energy.

Li Yi unleashed the "Heaven and Earth Qi Gathering Great Art," gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within six hundred miles, dividing the five elements, and gathering the qi into his meridians.

Moreover, he was currently trying to collect the water energy of heaven and earth, entering his kidney meridians, striving to break through to the fourth level of the Five Qi Realm as soon as possible, preferably opening sixty meridians, and completely finishing the path of "Five Qi Facing the Origin." In this way, this trip across dimensions would be considered worth it. It was just that according to this progress, it was estimated that it would take half a year to achieve.

Because Li Yi had been stripped of his position as Imperial Preceptor by a Yin Son of Heaven, the power of incense belief had greatly diminished, and the speed of opening meridians was very slow.

He also hadn't written an imperial decree himself to re-appoint himself as Imperial Preceptor, because as long as the Yin Son of Heaven was not dead, his actions were meaningless. After all, if he appointed himself, he would be stripped of it the next moment. Only by finding a way to settle the matter in one battle and completely solving the Incense Gods of the world could he enjoy the incense power of the Imperial Preceptor position with peace of mind.

Fortunately, Li Yi had used the power of incense belief during those nine days to borrow the false and cultivate the real, and his strength had greatly increased; otherwise, he would have truly stumbled.

Just as Li Yi was cultivating.

Suddenly.

A bird flew from the direction of the capital, flew directly into Taiyue City, and soon followed the trail to this heavily guarded Prince's mansion, heading straight for the main hall where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was gathering.

However, before the bird could land, it turned into a young girl in mid-air. The girl was dressed in colorful clothes and was exceptionally agile.

"Golden Pupil Guard Bailing, requests to see the True Person Tai Yi." This young girl Bailing was actually also a Golden Pupil Guard, and a spirit bird that had become a spirit.

"Bailing, is there important news from the capital?" Wang Ning, who was also a Golden Pupil Guard, walked up to ask.

Bailing said: "The Majesty has an order; this matter can only be told to the True Person Tai Yi."

"I will go and report." Golden Pupil Guard Wang Ning immediately walked into the main hall.

At this moment, he saw a golden auspicious cloud floating half a zhang above the ground in the hall. Sitting on the golden auspicious cloud was a handsome young man. Red, gold, mysterious, and green colors were reflecting off each other around him, and occasionally streaks of silver lightning were intertwined around his body, looking extraordinary and awe-inspiring.

And what was very peculiar was that the room was filled with a faint fragrance, like the sandalwood of incense, but also like the lotus fragrance of midsummer, elegant and noble, possessing an artistic conception of transcending the mundane.

"True Person, Golden Pupil Guard Bailing has brought important news from the capital and is currently waiting outside the door," Golden Pupil Guard Wang Ning said respectfully.

Li Yi, who was cultivating, opened his eyes calmly at this moment. He still held the magic seal, gathering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth: "Let her in."

"Yes, True Person." Golden Pupil Guard Wang Ning immediately led Bailing into the main hall.

When Bailing saw Li Yi, her heart trembled. She had flown from the wilderness into towns, then into the imperial palace, and had seen countless capable people and Incense Gods. But the person before her was the most extraordinary, truly like an immortal or a god, completely different from others. This was a gap in levels that incense could not make up for.

"Golden Pupil Guard Bailing, pays respects to the True Person Tai Yi." She didn't dare to look too much and hurriedly knelt down, incomparably respectful.

Li Yi said: "What news is there from the Majesty's side?"

"The Majesty has a letter; I ask the True Person Tai Yi to read it." Bailing hurriedly took out the letter and handed it over.

Li Yi grabbed the letter through the air. He opened it and took a look. The characters on it were written in simplified Chinese, which people of this world couldn't understand at all, so this was the best encryption method.

His gaze swept over it slightly.

He immediately laughed.

Sure enough, everything was just as he had thought. The Incense Gods of the world couldn't sit still. Only three days had passed, and the counterattack had come.

"Marquis of Champion, General of Heavenly Might, Mountain God of Shou Mountain, Lady Baishui... all are Incense Gods who have been famous for a long time in various parts of the world. And among them, there is no lack of spirits that have become spirits. Although there are not many people, they are all experts, and they are coming together. Clearly, they are holding a certainty of victory, wanting to kill me completely."

"If I can wipe out these Incense Gods, then those Yin Sons of Heaven will likely not be able to sit still."

Li Yi's gaze flickered slightly, pondering in his heart.

He knew that the water in this world was very deep. Although on the surface they were just some mountain spirits, monsters, Land Gods, and City Gods whose strength was not strong, after a deep understanding, one would find that the real experts were hidden in the dark, not showing their faces. Only after truly fighting would one understand how big the gap in strength was between these top experts and ordinary spirits. "I know about this matter. Go back and tell the Majesty that I have the confidence to deal with it." Then, a streak of silver lightning struck down, destroying the letter completely. Only then did Li Yi speak.

"Yes, True Person, your subordinate will take her leave."

Golden Pupil Guard Bailing then stood up and retreated. After walking out of the main hall, she shook her body and turned into a spirit bird, flapping her wings and flying away, rapidly flying toward the direction of the capital.

"Rest well these two days. At noon the day after tomorrow, follow this True Person to cross Taiyue Mountain and head to Taihu Lake." Li Yi then spoke.

"Yes." A Golden Pupil Guard received the order and left immediately.

However, two days passed quickly. During this period, Li Yi did not encounter any attacks from experts. He stayed in Taiyue City very calmly, but he knew this was just the calm before the storm.

By the third day, the Embroidered Uniform Guards were well-fed and rested, and then assembled again.

At noon, Li Yi unleashed the "Cloud-Stepping" technique again, taking these people directly across Taiyue Mountain and arriving at another city. This city was named Huguang City.

Still the old rule: scatter the three thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards into the city. These Embroidered Uniform Guards did not hurt people or disturb the people; they only did one thing: smash divine statues and destroy temples.

Everything was very normal.

But when they were about to destroy a temple named Lady Baishui, they encountered fierce opposition from the local villagers. However, the opposition was useless; the Lady Baishui temple was still destroyed by the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

(No errors, read it all in one go!)

"No wonder this city is called Huguang City. Standing on the city wall and looking south, the water of Taihu Lake is sparkling, reflecting the lake light onto the city wall. It is truly a beautiful scene." Li Yi stood on the city tower at this moment, his expression calm, appreciating the beautiful scenery of the other world.

Such tranquility and peaceful scenery could no longer be seen on Earth.

After the cross-dimensional gate opened, supernatural creatures were everywhere on Earth, and disasters occurred everywhere. How could one stand quietly in one place and appreciate the natural scenery like this?

"The beautiful scenery of Taihu Lake is famous throughout the world. The True Person Tai Yi is also a person of cultivation; why do you want to do such a scene-spoiling thing?" Suddenly, at this moment, a woman's voice sounded abruptly. Then, one saw a small boat emerge from the bottom of the water in the distance on Taihu Lake, and then one saw a young woman driving the small boat, swaying toward Taihu City.

Although there was some distance, the woman's voice lingered in his ears, not dissipating for a long time.

Clearly, this woman was not an ordinary person, but a practitioner with cultivation.

Li Yi's gaze flickered slightly as he looked at the woman, and he smiled: "You should be the legendary Lady Baishui?"

"This concubine is Qiu Baishui, paying respects to the True Person Tai Yi." This woman admitted her identity and also bowed, showing respect.

Li Yi said: "Qiu Baishui? A good name. But why do you think what this True Person is doing is a scene-spoiling thing?"

"Leaving the capital, beheading the four Guardian Gods, destroying temples and cutting down shrines all the way, causing many Incense Gods to perish one after another—the killing is too heavy. Isn't this a scene-spoiling thing?" Qiu Baishui said: "The world has just stabilized, and everyone wants to live a stable life. Why does the True Person want to stir up a bloody storm for your own selfish desires?"

"Have I killed anyone?" Li Yi asked.

"That, I have not." Qiu Baishui said.

Li Yi laughed: "Since I have not killed anyone, why say I am stirring up a bloody storm? I dare not touch the common people of the world in the slightest. All I am doing is fighting for some incense. You people can fight for the incense of the world, but I cannot? What kind of logic is this?"

"The True Person is the Imperial Preceptor, enjoying the incense offerings of the world. How could you be short of incense?" Qiu Baishui asked back.

Li Yi said: "How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan? You people can live a stable life, live forever, and be happy by staying in one corner and getting some incense. But I want to use the power of incense belief to cultivate the Great Dao, obtain divine power, save the collapsing sky, and deal with the extinction crisis. Naturally, I need more incense."

"But there is only so much incense in the world. He takes a part, you take a part, and what falls to me is just some soup and water. Naturally, I am unwilling, so I have to destroy temples and cut down shrines, letting you people spit out the incense power in your mouths."

"I don't understand what you are saying." Qiu Baishui frowned: "I only know that your actions are too extreme and harmful to heaven."

"You don't need to understand. You only need to know that in the struggle of the Great Dao, there is no life if you die. You fear that I will cut off your incense power, but how can I not worry that you people will monopolize the incense power and harm my hope of advancement?" Li Yi sighed at this moment.

"If the Daoist insists on doing this, then today I have no choice but to bury the True Person in the depths of this vast Taihu Lake." Qiu Baishui spoke seriously at this moment.

Because she had already sensed that her nearby Lady Baishui temple was being demolished, and the incense power on her body began to decrease rapidly.

Fortunately, the incense belief power accumulated over more than a thousand years was too vast, so it was not painful or itchy in the short term. If she let this Daoist mess around, she, this Lady Baishui, would likely become history completely.

"If you truly have this ability, it wouldn't matter if my flesh and blood were fed to the fish and shrimp in the lake. But I hope you can do it, because if you don't kill me, I will kill you today." Li Yi's expression was calm, his face like the lake water, without a ripple.

He also wanted to see how strong the famous Incense Gods of this world were, and what the difference was compared to the four Guardian Gods before.

Qiu Baishui had already driven the boat to the shore. She looked up at the True Person Tai Yi on the city wall, her gaze gradually turning cold.

This Daoist was truly crazy and hopeless. Besides killing him, there was no way to stop his behavior of destroying temples and cutting down shrines. Originally, she had wanted to persuade him; it would be best if there were no fighting, after all, it was not easy for fellow practitioners. But now it seemed she had to put away this pity.

"Since that is the case, then this concubine will ask the True Person Tai Yi for instruction today." Qiu Baishui bowed again, then her murderous intent was awe-inspiring.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 576 =====