Chapter 634: All Are Destroyed

After a round of combat, whether the Marquis of Champion, the General of Heavenly Might, or the God of Shoushan, all were at a severe disadvantage—Li Yi's power far exceeded their expectations; based on the strength he displayed in the capital, they had believed they stood a chance, even after becoming State Tutor and gaining incense power.

But the Yin Emperor had stripped him of his State Tutor title, and now the incense power had scattered.

Why had the True Person Taiyi's power grown several times stronger than before? Only a few days had passed—such rapid growth was simply unthinkable.

Had he been hiding his true strength all along?

"Can the four of us together defeat this True Person Taiyi?"

Marquis Zhao Zhenshan's face was dark; his body had been destroyed, and though he had reassembled it using incense power, he knew well from the punch he'd just taken that he was no match for this man—even surviving his hands was already a miracle.

As for killing him, he had never even considered it.

He glanced at the others.

At this moment, the Green Pine Daoist had abandoned all thought of fighting to the death; his Shoushan Seal had been shattered, and he now harbored only the desire to flee, for unlike the incense gods, he was a thousand-year-old pine spirit who had cultivated to enlightenment—even if the court stripped him of his divine title, he would still survive.

If that was the case, why fight an enemy they could not defeat?

The General of Heavenly Might, however, still burned with murderous intent, desperate to reclaim his former shame—but after Li Yi shattered his Golden Body, his arrogance had vanished, replaced by wary eyes.

He had no thought of retreat; this mission to slay the True Person Taiyi had been ordered by the Emperor himself. If he failed, even his divine title would be lost—just one imperial decree could strip him of his rank as General of Heavenly Might, and with the incense power gone, he would die.

"Gentlemen, you have all seen this Daoist's strength. None of you can defeat him alone. Only by uniting all four of us do we stand a chance to kill him. So now, I urge you to set aside past grievances and cooperate. If each of you holds back, the Daoist will find an opening—and you will be picked off one by one."

The General of Heavenly Might shouted loudly, unafraid Li Yi would hear.

"We already tried joining forces—it failed. My Shoushan Seal was destroyed. What's left to fight with?" the Green Pine Daoist said coldly. "Fight if you want—I'm done. I'll give up my title as God of Shoushan. Back in Shoushan, I'm still its king."

With that, he made no further hesitation and turned to flee.

The others were stunned and furious—how could this Green Pine Daoist be so shameless? After just a minor setback, he was already running away—wasn't this betrayal?

"Think you can run just because you can't fight? In this world, nothing comes so cheap. Since you came today, leave your life here." Li Yi roared, then drew his divine bow again—a crimson arrow materialized before him, glowing like a burning flame.

"Damn."

Seeing this, the Green Pine Daoist turned pale and instantly summoned a swirl of green smoke, fleeing at top speed.

But it was too slow.

This escape technique couldn't match even a Nascent Soul cultivator—how could it evade this divine bow?

As Li Yi released the bowstring, a crimson streak vanished across the sky—and in the blink of an eye, the arrow pierced the Green Pine Daoist's chest. The power of the upper-grade magic treasure erupted: a blaze engulfed him, surging through the wound, igniting his body.

"Ahh!" the Green Pine Daoist screamed in agony.

He ignored everything else, gathering incense power to resist the flames while desperately trying to heal his wounds.

As long as he remained God of Shoushan, the incense power would not vanish—he could recover from even the gravest injuries.

But at that moment—

A voice rang out from Huguang City: "By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: God of Shoushan, Green Pine, fled the battlefield and failed in duty. Today, his divine title is revoked; he is demoted to a wild spirit. This is the decree."

"What?"

The sudden voice drew the attention of the Marquis and the General—they turned instantly.

There, in the city, a Golden-Eyed Guard held the imperial decree and rose into the air. This Golden-Eyed Guard, named Hua Nü, was a mountain camellia spirit who had cultivated to enlightenment. Though her cultivation was inferior to Green Pine's, she held an official post and received incense worship—her power was no weakling's, but she had no right to join this battle.

Yet precisely now, this imperial decree delivered the fatal blow to the Green Pine Daoist.

With his divine title revoked, the incense power surrounding him rapidly scattered, unable to coalesce upon his body.

Normally, Green Pine wouldn't care—but now, it was catastrophic.

The fire within him, barely extinguished, flared back to life without incense power to suppress it. His nearly healed wounds worsened instantly. The incense belief tied to him spilled into the sky, its fragrance filling the air.

"Damn it! Is Emperor Shenwu trying to kick a man while he's down?!" Green Pine roared, furious beyond measure.

"A dying man has no need to rant."

Li Yi surged forward as a streak of golden light, abandoning his divine bow. In his hand appeared the Celestial Sword Shanque, which slashed through the air, carrying the strength of countless mortals and weaving three-colored magic power—deadly sharp.

Already gravely wounded, the Green Pine Daoist could not resist. In desperation, he spat out a cloud of green miasma, hoping to distract his foe and buy time to escape.

But it was too late.

A flash of cold light—and the Green Pine Daoist's head flew off.

His body rapidly reverted: from human form into a thousand-year-old ancient pine. His head became a wooden head, its features and contours lifelike. Seeing the ancient pine, Li Yi judged it might be useful and stored it within his Five Elements Bracelet.

"Is Green Pine dead?" The Marquis and the General exchanged glances, each sensing fear and unease in the other's eyes.

This was all too strange.

True Person Taiyi's power was unnaturally strong—and now the Golden-Eyed Guard's imperial decree. It felt like a trap, designed to lure them here and wipe out all incense gods at once.

After killing Green Pine, Li Yi's gaze turned again to the General of Heavenly Might.

"You're next."

No sooner had he spoken than he surged forward again as a streak of golden light.

The General of Heavenly Might understood: all was lost. Not only could he not kill True Person Taiyi—he might not even survive.

Retreat!

He did not wish to die pointlessly. The thought of fleeing arose—but before he could act—

Boom.

One strike, one shot, one blow—no content in sight!

A tiger's roar echoed beside him—and from the nearby mist burst a massive black tiger. With a single paw strike, divine power erupted, amplified by incense belief, summoning a storm of airwaves that shattered his body in an instant.

"Black Mountain Lord, what are you doing?!" the Marquis shouted, enraged.

At this moment, the Black Mountain Lord beside Emperor Shenwu had turned traitor and attacked the General of Heavenly Might.

"By the Emperor's command, I assist True Person Taiyi in slaying evil gods," the black tiger spoke in human voice, fierce and menacing.

"Good, good, good! Emperor Shenwu truly means to ally with True Person Taiyi, to destroy mountains, shatter temples, and eradicate all incense gods across the land!"

Incense power surged again—the General of Heavenly Might's shattered body began to reassemble before their eyes.

His divine title had not been revoked—he could still gather incense and recover.

But he glanced again toward Huguang City.

He could not be certain whether the Golden-Eyed Guard, holding the Emperor's decree, would strip him of his title too.

But what awaited him was not a decree—but a fire that covered the heavens.

"Summon the Wind!"

A gale swept through, carrying the breath of heartfire, instantly engulfing the General of Heavenly Might.

Under the blazing fire, his soul scattered—even incense power could not shield him from such Daoist devastation.

When the heartfire faded, the sky was clear—nothing remained.

Yet Li Yi did not stop his slaughter. Holding the Celestial Sword, he turned to the last man: Marquis Zhao Zhenshan.

Poor Marquis Zhao Zhenshan—his entire life had never known such a humiliating battle. From the start, his troops had been burned to ashes by heavenly fire; his allies fell one by one; he could not even flee. Worst of all, Black Mountain Lord was a traitor—who had turned and killed the General of Heavenly Might in a single betrayal.

"Only you remain. No need to waste time—I, this Daoist, shall send you on your way." Li Yi charged forward with sword raised, terrifying in his might—nowhere to run.

"Damn it!"

Marquis Zhao Zhenshan roared in defiance, desperate to carve a path to escape—but he quickly realized how naive he'd been.

His flight speed could not match True Person Taiyi's. After a brief clash, the Celestial Sword severed part of his body. Even with incense power, the lost limbs could not regenerate—clearly, this Celestial Sword was especially potent against incense gods.

In the end, the Marquis died in hatred, slain on the spot by Li Yi. His body shattered, and his scattered incense filled the entire Taihu Lake—still lingering for three days.

Clearly, these incense gods had amassed tremendous incense power over the years.

Now that they were dead, this power lost its vessel and dissolved into the heavens.

"Congratulations, True Person—slaying a mighty foe, victory secured."

When Li Yi returned to Huguang City, Black Mountain Lord once again took human form and bowed respectfully to offer his praise.

"Though these incense gods were strong, they hardly qualify as true foes," Li Yi said calmly. "But all this was planned. Tomorrow, we continue destroying mountains and shattering temples. You will come with me. When this is done, your reward will not be lacking."

"As the True Person commands," Black Mountain Lord replied, obedient and reverent.

(End of Chapter)