Chapter 638: The Divine Ancestor Emperor

Anshan disappeared?

This scene shook the Shen Zong Emperor's spirit, filling him with utter horror.

A great mountain, having gathered incense power, had already become sentient—yet even so, it could not withstand a single strike from the Taiyi True Person; amid the raging storm and torrential rain, it was violently flattened, until the mountain vanished, the imperial mausoleum disappeared, leaving only a flat, hundred-li plain.

Not only was the Shen Zong Emperor stunned, but even the Embroidered Uniform Guards outside Anshan, who were breaking mountains and destroying temples, were equally horrified.

Such a massive disturbance was, of course, seen by the Embroidered Uniform Guards; they could not believe that a mountain range spanning a hundred li, blocking their path, had vanished in an instant. They had heard legends of immortals moving mountains and filling seas, but legends were just legends—they never imagined they would witness it with their own eyes.

"Is this the true power of the Taiyi True Person?" Jin Tong Wei Hua Nu widened her eyes, staring at the empty direction of Anshan, unable to recover her composure for a long time.

"No wonder no incense deity in the world can match the True Person. With such power, he is no different from a god." Commander Yang Ling of the Embroidered Uniform Guards was also momentarily dazed.

And with Anshan gone,

The surrounding lands seemed suddenly open and clear, the view greatly expanded—as if without this great mountain, the place had become better.

Yet the Shen Zong Emperor's face was grim; he could see that the Taiyi True Person's strike had not targeted him, but aimed to obliterate all of Anshan, killing every one of his ministers and leaving only him, a solitary ruler—and in truth, the Taiyi True Person had succeeded.

Had he not been the Yin Son of Heaven, with vast and deeply accumulated incense power, he would likely have perished.

"Taiyi True Person, what do you mean? If you don't wish to transmit your cultivation method, you needn't strike so suddenly and brutally!" The Shen Zong Emperor suppressed his inner fury, his face dark as he asked.

With Anshan gone, his losses were immense.

Yet he could not understand why the Taiyi True Person had struck so dishonorably and without warning.

Li Yi, however, remained calm: "At this moment, I had no intention of clashing with you Yin Son of Heaven—the timing was not ripe. But since the Shen Zong Emperor is so foolish and insolent, demanding my cultivation method, I shall reluctantly send Your Majesty on your way."

"Audacious!"

Upon hearing this, the Yin Son of Heaven could no longer contain his rage—he erupted in fury.

Since ascending the throne, and even after death becoming Yin Son of Heaven, no one had ever dared to show him such disrespect—even the current Son of Heaven, when arriving at Anshan, would bow respectfully and offer three incense sticks in worship.

Today, this Taiyi True Person dared destroy Anshan and desecrate the imperial mausoleum—he clearly held no regard for the Shen Zong Emperor.

"If you lack courage, how dare you defy the world and eradicate incense deities?"

Li Yi's expression remained calm: "Shen Zong Emperor, your power is formidable, but you have not awakened the cultivation method. You possess vast incense power yet cannot wield it properly—in actual combat, you are no match for me. Surrender. I might spare your life."

"Surrender?"

The Shen Zong Emperor laughed bitterly with rage: "I, who rule all under heaven, whose might extends to the four seas—even in death, I am honored as Yin Son of Heaven. You, a Daoist priest, dare demand I surrender? Ridiculous. A single imperial decree from me can strip you of your state-teacher title and scatter your incense power. To oppose me is the stupidest decision of your life."

Li Yi said: "Then why wait? Issue your decree. You know well why the current Son of Heaven, the Divine Martial Emperor, sent me to lead three thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards on this path of breaking mountains and destroying temples—because I can break free from incense control. Even without incense power, I still possess the strength to defeat all incense deities under heaven."

"The outcome of the Taihu battle was clear, was it not?"

At these words, the Shen Zong Emperor fell silent again.

Indeed.

The Taihu battle, though seemingly simple, was watched by all incense deities under heaven: could a cultivator, without incense power, defeat several famed incense deities?

Li Yi won—meaning the incense path could no longer restrain this state-teacher.

Yet as the Shen Zong Emperor fell silent, Li Yi now drew from his Five Elements Bracelet a divine wooden bow, and a crimson arrow appeared upon its string.

"Hmm?"

The Shen Zong Emperor's face darkened again—he felt a chilling killing intent lock onto him.

Damn it.

This Taiyi True Person truly meant to kill him?

But the moment this thought arose, a crimson arrow shot forth instantly, flying at an unimaginable speed, arriving in the blink of an eye.

This divine bow from the Demon God Realm was clearly forged solely to kill—its arrow was lethally swift, granting no time for reaction.

Even with the Dragon-Tiger aura bolstering him and the vast incense protection, the Shen Zong Emperor still could not withstand the arrow's strike.

Instantly,

a grotesque wound tore open across the Shen Zong Emperor's chest; the crimson arrow had already flown far into the horizon, vanishing from sight.

He stared in disbelief at his pierced chest.

Flames of fire swirled around it, attempting to corrode and burn him to ashes.

"Damn it."

The Shen Zong Emperor's body was damaged, his soul seared with agony—he roared, unleashing a torrent of incense belief power that instantly extinguished the roaring flames, and the pierced wound healed in an instant.

This Yin Son of Heaven was clearly unlike other incense deities—this level of incense had triggered a fundamental transformation.

"Indeed, killing a Yin Son of Heaven is difficult. But since I've already acted, I can't afford to hesitate." Li Yi's gaze turned icy; he once again channeled Dragon-Tiger divine power and fired three more arrows in succession.

Each arrow was of top-grade magic treasure caliber; in an instant, they pierced the Shen Zong Emperor again, causing his entire body to explode.

"Taiyi True Person, I will kill you!" The Shen Zong Emperor was stunned and furious—he never expected this Taiyi to act so decisively and ruthlessly, granting no moment of respite.

He had no choice but to gather incense once more to restore his body.

Such wounds meant nothing to a Yin Son of Heaven—yet this humiliation was unbearable.

"Combat is like this."

Li Yi's expression was cold; taking advantage of the moment the enemy was restoring his body, he channeled his heart-fire energy and spat.

The wind turned into raging fire, sweeping across the sky—not for any other purpose, but solely to slay this Yin Son of Heaven before him.

Under the Great Wind Summoning Art, the Shen Zong Emperor's body suffered severe burns; he felt himself dissolving within the flames—even his vast incense could not reassemble him. If this continued, he might truly die here, slowly burned away.

Though the Shen Zong Emperor had little combat experience, centuries of cultivation were not without merit—he now directed his consciousness to gather cosmic energy, merging it with incense belief, channeling it all into his Dragon-Tiger aura.

Instantly, roars of dragon and tiger echoed endlessly.

!

A true dragon, accompanied by a ferocious tiger, burst forth, their fangs bared and claws extended, using the immense incense power to forcibly resist the searing heat of the Great Wind Summoning Art—but at great cost: countless incense energies leaked away, filling a hundred-li radius with thick, fragrant sandalwood scent.

The Dragon-Tiger aura was now nearly worn away.

Yet fortunately, it bought him a moment—enough for the Shen Zong Emperor to reassemble his incense body.

"I will kill you."

The Shen Zong Emperor now regarded Li Yi as a mortal enemy; without hesitation, he wrapped himself in the incense energy gathered from Anshan, his body swelling violently, transforming in an instant into a giant a hundred zhang tall, majestic as a god.

This incense giant raised his fist, gathering power to smash down upon Li Yi.

No flashy techniques—purely stacked incense power. Such a blow could shatter mountains and drain lakes.

"Punch back? I'm not afraid. Great Transformation Technique."

Li Yi roared, channeling Daoist art—his body instantly swelled, becoming a hundred-zhang giant in the blink of an eye. This technique was crude; altering one's size brought too many drawbacks, and actual strength remained unchanged.

But one must not lose face in confrontation—aura matters most in battle.

As a hundred-zhang giant, Li Yi now stood atop golden auspicious clouds, silver lightning weaving around him; he punched forward, three-colored light swirling, Dragon-Tiger divine power exploding.

Instantly, mountains and rivers trembled, the earth shook.

BOOM!

At that moment, the two fists collided.

The clash of two hundred-zhang titans shook heaven and earth; with a single strike, the energy recoiled, cracking the land for a hundred li in every direction, as if even the clouds overhead rippled from the impact.

The Shen Zong Emperor was no martial expert—his punch, though powerful, lacked the finesse of Li Yi's.

The punch, fueled by his full strength and magic power, shattered the Shen Zong Emperor's arm; the residual force erupted into a colossal beam of light, piercing clean through his limb and tearing away nearly half his body.

"Ahh!" The Shen Zong Emperor screamed in agony; his hundred-zhang incense body cracked all over, as if ready to collapse at any moment.

"Again."

The giant form of Li Yi roared, pressing his advantage; he stepped forward, appearing before the Shen Zong Emperor, and swung another punch.

Lightning cracked across the sky, thunder rolled, stirring violent gales.

The Shen Zong Emperor now looked at Li Yi with shock.

Only after clashing fists could he truly grasp how terrifying this Taiyi True Person's power was—his punch could crush one's spirit entirely, leaving no will to resist. It was truly unimaginable.

But the Shen Zong Emperor had no retreat; he roared again, gathering cosmic incense and energy, raising his other arm to deliver another punch.

His punch seemed to manifest mountains, rivers, sun, and moon—representing the power of all under heaven.

This strike was truly terrifying—no incense deity under heaven could withstand it.

BOOM.

Another sound, as if splitting heaven and earth, echoed.

The earth itself groaned in agony.

The Yin Son of Heaven's power was fearsome, but this Taiyi True Person was a god descended from heaven. Such a battle was unbearable to witness—even nearby Embroidered Uniform Guards fled as fast as they could, terrified that lingering too long would see them crushed by the residual force.

(End of Chapter)