Chapter 613: Divine Bow

Storm and rain swept across a hundred li.

The lake surged into towering waves, as if ready to drown half the capital.

This Northern Guardian God-General Wang Qijun, when he moved, was truly ferocious and invincible—he struck with lethal intent, aiming to cut Li Yi's life short, slaying this so-called immortal right in the marketplace, letting every citizen of the capital see that even an immortal was but another corpse beneath his blade.

Only thus could he reclaim the lost incense offerings; if Li Yi's name continued to spread, who would still pay heed to him, the Northern Guardian God-General?

The struggle over incense offerings concerns life and death; no incense deity could tolerate such a thing happening right under their nose.

Yet amid the torrential rain, beneath the blade's glow.

A mass of crimson radiance coalesced, forming a divine bird spreading its wings and crying out, shielding Li Yi within. Though the blow carried immense power, it failed to pierce the defense of this mid-grade Dao artifact, the Crimson Feather Purple Gold Armor—no matter how fierce the blade's edge, it could not advance an inch.

"This is impossible."

Witnessing this, Northern Guardian God-General Wang Qijun's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

This slash, fueled by incense belief, could cleave through a mountain—how could it fail to even scratch his armor? This was unprecedented in all history.

"Nothing's impossible. You're a frog at the bottom of a well, only a god through incense, never seeking advancement. Though you've amassed centuries of incense belief, you don't even know how to use it—what a waste. If I had your level of incense belief, I'd have remade heaven and earth, reopened the sun and moon."

Li Yi's expression was cold. Dragon-Tiger energy coiled around him; in his hand, he gripped a divine wooden bow, his entire body radiating murderous aura.

This incense deity was powerful, yet knew nothing of cultivation. Had he learned even one Dao technique or immortal spell, and wielded incense power through it, the entire three-hundred-li capital would have been obliterated in an instant.

Alas, a mortal who becomes a god remains a mortal.

Without cultivation insight, without control over power, without the skill to unleash it—if not for his centuries of accumulated incense, he wouldn't even have the right to fight me, let alone boast before me.

"Quick fight, quick end. This is the capital—countless incense deities lurk here. If I'm drawn into a prolonged battle, I'll be the one to suffer." Li Yi sensed that the moment he clashed, countless hidden gazes from all directions turned toward him.

Though this was the imperial capital, it teemed with hidden tigers and dragons—he refused to believe no other experts lurked here.

Immediately.

A golden arrow appeared in his hand.

He unleashed his Dragon-Tiger spiritual power, drew back the bowstring, slowly pulling the divine wooden bow taut.

"So heavy." This was Li Yi's first time using this divine bow.

No wonder—it was a weapon wielded by a great demon of the Demon Realm, truly extraordinary. Even with all his strength unleashed, he could not fully draw it open—only a fraction.

Yet even so.

As the bow stretched open, spiritual energy surged wildly toward it; the golden arrow blazed brighter, like a ray of sunlight piercing darkness. Merely appearing, it illuminated a hundred li—every citizen of the capital and every incense deity could see it.

"That bow…" Guardian God-General Wang Qijun, seeing this, felt his heart tremble.

When the divine bow opened, it seemed as if heaven and earth were being torn apart.

If one arrow were fired, who could survive?

Wang Qijun sensed mortal peril. Having been a god for so long, he suddenly understood—he shouldn't risk his life over a petty struggle for incense.

Flee!

The thought surfaced instinctively in his mind.

Instantly, Wang Qijun could no longer hold back—he gripped his great blade, incense aura swirling around him, and without a word, turned and fled.

"The Guardian God-General fled?"

Some powerful figures in the capital witnessed this, stunned.

The fierce, centuries-old Guardian God-General who had slain countless ghosts and demons trying to enter the capital—had he fled after just one clash with the Daoist Taiyi? Didn't Wang Qijun fear his belief collapsing, his incense dissolving, his power plummeting?

"Want to run because you can't win? Is there such a free ride in this world? Die!"

Li Yi roared, locking his spiritual sense onto the Guardian God-General, and instantly fired an arrow from the divine wooden bow.

This golden arrow was a top-grade magic artifact—though inferior to the Black Gold Divine Arrow, it was crafted by the Bald Daoist himself, and thus extraordinary.

Moreover, the golden arrow was forged from Five Elements metal energy, its edge the sharpest.

The arrow shot forth, golden divine light slicing through the night, illuminating the heavens. Its speed was unimaginable—in an instant, it caught up to Guardian God-General Wang Qijun and struck his skull.

Wang Qijun, never having possessed a fleshly body, instantly vanished—his head dissolved into a skyward swirl of incense energy. The entire capital smelled a peculiar sandalwood fragrance.

"What nonsense—Wang Qijun defeated in one blow?" Southern Guardian God-General Zhang Lei was utterly horrified.

He had thought the Daoist Taiyi was strong, but believed he could capture him easily—only held back by fear of consequences, hence allowing him into the capital. He never imagined that one arrow from the Daoist's divine bow had obliterated Wang Qijun's head.

As another Guardian God-General, his strength was nearly equal to Wang Qijun's—meaning the Daoist Taiyi could kill him with one shot too.

Shock wasn't limited to them.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards, Daoists, some spirit-beasts in human form, and other incense deities in the capital were all stunned.

A Guardian God-General defeated—how many years had passed since that last happened?

Had the imperial authority weakened? Was chaos about to erupt?

Yet how could people in this world of incense deities understand the might of divine weapons? Li Yi, wielding even a single Dao artifact, could fight above his level, slay Nascent Souls, and stand firm against Soul Transformation—let alone this divine bow, which, paired with the Black Gold Divine Arrow, could kill experts of the Three Flowers Realm. How could these incense deities possibly resist? "Such a divine bow, such an arrow," Li Yi silently praised.

He had lost so many Dao artifacts to slay that great demon and seize this bow—if he couldn't make it worth its cost, it would be a waste.

Yet though the arrow had shattered the Guardian God-General's head, his headless corpse still stood suspended in midair.

Clearly, the Guardian God-General was not dead. The scattered incense energy nearby began converging toward his body, attempting to restore him.

Meanwhile,

The golden arrow, after flying far into the distance, inexplicably looped back through the sky, returning toward Li Yi's position. Though its power was spent and its speed slow, it was clear the Bald Daoist had imbued the arrow with an auto-retrieval function—so long as it remained intact, it would return to its wielder.

Of course, it required time.

"Still alive? Then here's another arrow." Li Yi drew another arrow—this one blazing crimson, as if engulfed in flame.

This arrow was forged from the Five Elements fire energy.

He drew the bow again.

One shot, one arrow, one intent!

His Dragon-Tiger spiritual power erupted; Li Yi barely managed to draw the divine bow open once more.

Spiritual energy gathered from heaven and earth; the air screamed. This arrow targeted the headless corpse's body.

At this moment,

The Guardian God-General's head had coalesced into a faint silhouette. He stared in terror at Li Yi far behind him and could no longer hold back: "Daoist Taiyi! I am a Guardian God-General, officially appointed by the court! Do you truly dare kill me? Don't you fear imperial retribution, the extermination of your nine clans?"

Yet Li Yi's expression remained cold—he did not answer, and fired his second arrow.

The next instant,

A crimson flame ignited the heavens, carving a dragon of fire through the sky.

Before Wang Qijun could react, his body exploded violently; beneath the fire's sweep, his fragmented incense body burned fiercely.

"Ahh!"

He screamed in agony, his soul tormented.

Yet the immense incense belief sustained his soul's existence—he neither perished nor could he recover, his fate pitiful beyond words.

"Still alive?" Li Yi was startled.

His body had shattered into incense, his soul reduced to fragments—and yet he still moved, still thrashed. Under the Five Elements fire, his soul fragments weren't vanishing—they were gathering, healing, drawn together by incense energy.

His incense belief was too dense—it had undergone some kind of transformation.

"Damn it."

Wang Qijun, regaining a sliver of awareness, realized he could not stay. If another arrow came, he had no confidence he could survive.

He abandoned all thought of restoring his body or preserving incense—he must survive tonight.

The next instant,

Swarms of incense and soul fragments erupted into radiant light, scattering in all directions.

Above the capital, it looked like a meteor shower—magnificent to behold.

Each soul fragment, if entering any statue, could slowly restore itself through incense nourishment.

"Too bad—if you'd met anyone else, you might have lived. But you met me? Not likely." Li Yi set aside the divine bow. Twelve heartfire energies surged skyward, illuminating the heavens. He once again devoured the breath of heaven and earth, channeled his inner fire, and unleashed a Dao technique.

Call the Wind.

This technique was the ultimate counter to incense deities—it burned Primordial Spirits with wind-born fire.

Earlier, when the Guardian God-General still had his body, Li Yi hadn't thought a single Call the Wind could kill him. But now, with only soul fragments scattered and incense power dispersed—wasn't this suicide?

Instantly, heavenly fire erupted, swallowing the meteor shower whole.

One by one, soul fragments vanished, dissolving in the flames—leaving only countless incense energies drifting through the capital.

When the Dao technique ended,

Li Yi looked up—the sky held not a single trace of soullight.

Clearly, the Guardian God-General had failed to escape—he had been utterly slain above the capital.

"He didn't even escape?" Zhang Lei, seeing the blaze consume every trace of spiritual presence, shuddered involuntarily.

This Daoist was the absolute antithesis of incense deities.

He wields a divine bow, breathes heavenly fire, burns souls—what incense deity in this world could stand against him?

(End of Chapter)