Chapter 627

At this moment, Li Yi had reached the third layer of the Five Qi Realm; his power had surged dramatically. Now that he had reversed the Dao, he could wield the Law of Turning Land into River—his ability far surpassed what it once was. Even without the bolstering power of incense, this single strike could rend the heavens in an instant and sever everything before him.

The three National Guardian Generals before him felt this terrifying aura and instantly grew terrified.

Yet, after their fear came shock.

For Li Yi's attack had already ended—the golden light had slashed toward the distant Heaven's Mechanism, vanishing beyond the horizon until the law's power finally dissipated a thousand li away.

"What just happened? What was that?" The Western National Guardian General trembled, his face filled with bewilderment—he had no idea what Li Yi had just done.

"It was an extremely terrifying technique, but we don't seem to be injured."

The Eastern National Guardian General immediately checked his body, then grew terrified again: "No—it's wrong. We've been cut."

He watched in horror as a thin golden line appeared on his body. At first unnoticed, but now it thickened steadily; his lower half had lost all sensation and was slowly sliding away, detaching from him.

Vast amounts of incense energy spread around him, yet no matter how hard he gathered it, he could not repair the wound.

"Crack!"

Worse still, a golden line appeared on his spear—and the spear snapped cleanly in two, half of it plummeting from midair.

He was not alone in this fate.

The Southern National Guardian General, Zhang Jian Gong, also saw his precious sword snap instantly; then his lower half began to separate. There was no reversal—only helplessness as he watched himself being cleaved into two pieces.

"How is this possible?"

The Western National Guardian General, witnessing this, was both shocked and enraged. He roared, attempting to gather incense energy and charge at Li Yi to take his life.

But the moment he moved his front foot, his body split apart—half remained where he stood, then helplessly tumbled from the clouds. Before he even reached the ground, his body rapidly disintegrated, turning into incense energy that vanished into the air; his weapon shattered at the same time.

He couldn't even protect himself now, let alone kill.

If the three National Guardian Generals suffered this, what of the other incense gods they had brought?

Under this single strike, they were all cleaved in half. Though their nature as incense gods spared them death, they had lost half their souls and half their incense power—his strength was crippled.

"Even stripped of his Imperial Advisor title, the Taiyi Daoist still wields such power? We are no match. Our estimation of him was gravely wrong—flee at once."

A land god from the capital cried out in terror, the first to react. Without looking back, he turned into a wisp of blue smoke and shot toward the capital.

He knew only by returning to the capital's temple and under the Son of Heaven's protective aura could he survive this disaster.

Any other direction meant certain death.

"Run!" A river god of the Nine Rivers of the capital also abandoned his lower half and fled immediately.

A few were utterly terrified; the rest of the incense gods scattered in panic.

They had been gods for centuries—they feared death and did not wish to die.

Though incense gods were hard to kill, they had not forgotten: this Taiyi Daoist had personally slain a National Guardian General before. This miscalculation had cost them dearly—if they didn't flee now, they would lose their lives.

"Now you want to run? Too late." Li Yi showed no mercy. He had left the capital with three thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards precisely to destroy temples and shatter idols.

The fewer incense gods in the world, the better. The people could no longer sustain them. Only by destroying these temples could incense concentrate in the hands of the few.

"Summon Wind!"

He once again activated the Dao technique, channeling the fire in his heart—but this time, the fire carried wood energy. This wood energy made the heart-fire even more ferocious; in an instant, a sea of flames engulfed the heavens. This fire sea had changed from before: any flame that touched an incense god drew other flames toward it as if magnetized.

The wood energy had imbued the fire sea with a semblance of life, enhancing the Summon Wind Law's power.

Within the fire sea, the incense gods' bodies melted rapidly. Once their souls were extinguished, their forms could not hold, instantly dissolving into wisps of blue smoke.

"Ah!"

The agony of their souls being roasted echoed through the air.

Even the three National Guardian Generals could not withstand the fire's heat. Now, eyes blazing, they frantically fled in all directions, trying to save their lives—but as they ran, their bodies continued to disintegrate. In this brief moment, the heart-fire had already seeped into their souls, burning from within outward. Extinguishing it was impossible.

After completing his great law, Li Yi ignored the wailing incense gods. He continued riding his golden auspicious cloud, flying away without a backward glance.

The Golden Eye Guards and Embroidered Uniform Guards atop the cloud were utterly stunned.

They knew the Taiyi True Person was powerful—but never imagined he could be this absurd. One finger severed the incense gods' bodies; one breath of fire killed countless deities. The land gods and river gods of the capital were one thing—but even the three National Guardian Generals, who had served since the dynasty's founding, were no match. They hadn't even had time to strike before fleeing in terror.

But the three National Guardian Generals did not flee far.

Soon, all saw them dissolve into ash midair—no one knew if they had left behind even a single incense divine thought. If not, the National Guardian Generals would vanish from history. If they had left a thought, they might restore themselves through incense power.

But even if they restored themselves, what did it matter? They would be settled accounts with eventually.

Li Yi's gaze shifted slightly.

He looked toward a statue standing just outside the capital.

It was a stone statue. Though battered by centuries of wind and rain, generations of craftsmen had repaired it, preserving it perfectly. The statue bore the likeness of the Southern National Guardian General, Zhang Jian Gong. Around it, incense energy still gathered thickly; a divine thought stirred from the incense, slowly taking shape into a human form.

"So these National Guardian Generals had prepared in advance—fearing they couldn't match me, they left a backup." Li Yi understood: though slain, they could still restore themselves through the incense of countless people.

Even if not at their peak, being alive was still infuriating.

"Hua Nu." Li Yi suddenly turned to the Golden Eye Guard: "You had an imperial decree just now, didn't you? Revoke the titles of all four National Guardian Generals, and all land gods and river gods of the capital. Then destroy their temples. Let's see if they can resurrect again."

"Your True Person's command—how could I dare refuse?" Hua Nu immediately took out brush and ink and swiftly wrote on the blank decree.

"Which Embroidered Uniform Guard will carry this out?" Li Yi glanced around.

"Company Commander Zhang Guang, I volunteer!" A guard in a flying-fish robe immediately stepped forward.

Li Yi looked, reached out, and snatched the completed decree from midair, then tossed it into the guard's hands: "If you complete this task well, your merit will be great. Go."

With that, a cloud lifted him and carried him directly into the capital.

Soon after,

the Embroidered Uniform Guard Company Commander acted swiftly in the capital.

Before long, the decree spread through the capital, and other Embroidered Uniform Guards joined the Company Commander in destroying the statues and temples.

"Taiyi True Person, are you truly going to exterminate us all?" The Southern National Guardian General, Zhang Jian Gong, emerged from his statue as an incense body, screaming in terror toward the retreating golden auspicious cloud.

But cracks began appearing across his face.

Because the decree had been issued, he was no longer a National Guardian General. Stripped of his official title, his incense belief collapsed—this divine thought was doomed to vanish, unable to recover.

But Li Yi had already left, too indifferent to care what became of these generals. Having chosen the path of destroying temples and shattering idols, anyone who stood in his way must die—there was no mercy.

"Taiyi True Person, I was wrong! Spare my life!" A land god in the capital cried out desperately, begging.

But the Embroidered Uniform Guards had already moved—they smashed the land god's temple and told nearby villagers the land god had committed countless evils, forbidding all worship.

These measures left the incense gods with no escape.

They could only watch helplessly as their bodies dissolved, their temples destroyed, their souls erased from heaven and earth, vanishing utterly.

The weakness of incense gods was now unmistakable.

Li Yi had learned how to deal with incense gods: against powerful ones, issue the imperial decree first—strip their divine titles, scatter their incense, then burn their souls with the Summon Wind Law.

But this method only worked on deities officially sanctioned by the court. It had no effect on unregistered incense gods.

Soon,

Li Yi arrived at his first destination.

It was a city.

The city was called Xiangcheng, for its people made statues for a living, and many temples had sprung up nearby—even the surrounding mountains were piled high with statues.

He descended his auspicious cloud and ordered the three thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards to land.

"You have one hour to destroy all statues inside and outside this city, and kill all incense gods. If you face resistance, I will intervene." Li Yi spoke: "When time is up, regroup here immediately."

"Yes, my lord!" Yang Ling, the Embroidered Uniform Guard commander, beamed with excitement.

Following such a powerful Daoist, how could he fail to achieve glory?

Soon,

The three thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards scattered like tigers. Their spiritual senses were open—they could see spirits and gods. They instantly knew which statues bore incense and which did not.

Ordinary spirits and demons stood no chance against the Embroidered Uniform Guards' embroidered brocade knives.

Besides, with the Taiyi True Person overseeing them, they feared no strong enemy.