Chapter 639: Eradicating the Yin Son of Heaven

Two giants, a hundred zhang tall, clashed, and the commotion was immense.

Li Yi's fist strikes were terrifying, possessing the power to pierce mountains and rivers, and with the divine might of Dragon and Tiger erupting, the Emperor Shen Zong had no way to resist—each blow shattered his body, spraying vast amounts of incense energy, yet the Emperor dared not cease his resistance, or he would die a terrible death.

Thus, despite knowing he was at a disadvantage, Emperor Shen Zong repeatedly condensed his incense divine body, roaring as he swung his fists in counterattack.

But this only brought one after another explosion of his form.

And each devastating blow came at a cost: though incense could reassemble his body, his soul force was steadily depleted, so each time he reformed, he grew weaker than before.

"Emperor Shen Zong, you are no match for me. Rest in peace." Li Yi suddenly roared, his voice like thunder; he clenched his fist and surged forward again, his fist intent exploding like a wrathful Vajra bearing wind and thunder, wielding Dragon and Tiger as he slammed down.

Emperor Shen Zong's spirit was shaken, his defenses riddled with openings—he was punched straight through the skull.

No flesh and blood flew—only incense scattered—but this punch also erased a portion of his soul force, so he still screamed in agony, his massive body shrinking noticeably, incense energy unable to coalesce fully, peeling away in large chunks.

Like a temple statue, cracked and neglected, slowly weathering away.

But Li Yi knew how hard this Yin Son of Heaven was to kill; even as his body kept exploding, he kept regenerating, thanks to the accumulated belief of countless years—no matter how many times this emperor fell, as long as the people still believed in the Zhao dynasty, he would swiftly recover.

Li Yi's only option was to wear him down until his soul force decayed to the point he could no longer gather incense energy.

He unleashed punch after punch.

Each strike carried the power to shake the earth and destroy rivers and mountains.

Emperor Shen Zong was finally utterly defeated—he could no longer resist, his body continuously dissolving, his strength fading further, and his hundred-zhang form had been pounded down by twenty zhang.

"Taiyi True Person, you cannot kill me."

Though defeated, Emperor Shen Zong still defiantly roared: "After today, all under heaven will hunt you—you have nowhere to flee."

Once his fate spread, within days the other Yin Son of Heaven of the Zhao dynasty would unite, summoning all incense gods across the land for a second campaign against this Taiyi True Person.

At that time, he did not believe this Taiyi True Person could survive.

Li Yi said nothing, only scowled and swung his fists, continuing to shatter the Emperor's incense body, crushing him while erasing his soul force.

Admittedly, Emperor Shen Zong's vitality was remarkably tenacious—his soul had been nurtured by incense energy for too long; it could no longer be called a soul—it had become a Primordial Spirit, like the Primordial Spirit of a cultivator at the Soul Transformation realm, able to endure even outside the body.

But even a Primordial Spirit was useless—he did not understand true cultivation, could not fully harness the power of incense belief, or else how could he be driven back step by step by Li Yi?

The earthquake-shaking fist strikes lasted nearly half an hour.

Emperor Shen Zong's body was now less than fifty zhang tall, standing before Li Yi like a child.

His condition was dire—his form was broken, incense energy completely dissipated, his regeneration slowed drastically, his Primordial Spirit nearly worn away; once that threshold passed, he would become the first Yin Son of Heaven in history to perish at the hands of a Daoist.

Previously, Yin Son of Heaven only perished during dynastic transitions; now, the court was still in its golden age, incense energy abundant—no one would believe an Yin Son of Heaven could meet such an end.

Emperor Shen Zong clearly foresaw his fate: no matter the outcome, today he could not escape this calamity.

"Damn it!" he roared in frustration, no longer thinking of anything but fleeing immediately.

If he didn't go now, he'd never get away.

Thinking this, Emperor Shen Zong's nearly fifty-zhang form ceased its stubborn resistance, suddenly dissolving into a massive plume of blue smoke, which then split into hundreds of radiant beams spreading in all directions—this technique was known to all incense gods: if even one divine thought escaped, he could reassemble his incense body.

Though he wouldn't regain his peak, it was better than losing his life.

"Taiyi, he's no match for you. If he wants to flee, I'll help you stop him—eliminate the threat once and for all." Xiang Xiangzi, watching from the side, could no longer hold back.

With her present, how could she allow an enemy to slip from under her nose?

Though her current body was formed from a seven-colored stone, making control awkward and preventing refined Daoist arts, that didn't mean she couldn't act—and with incense energy bolstering her, she might not be far weaker than her peak.

"Subdue Dragon, Tame Tiger."

Xiang Xiangzi made no extra motion, forcibly channeling Daoist energy into her palm, then clapped through the air.

This strike fully manifested the divine might of Dragon and Tiger—the entire heavens and earth rang with deafening dragon roars and tiger growls, their sound carrying immense power; the moment it appeared, the entire region was struck by an indescribable force, invisible yet encompassing all directions, leaving no inch unoccupied.

As this attack struck, every radiant beam scattered in midair shattered inch by inch, finally dissolving into specks of light vanishing into the cosmos.

"Ah!"

Each beam's dissolution echoed with faint cries of agony.

It was Emperor Shen Zong's Primordial Spirit wailing.

He had split his soul into fragments to flee—seemingly clever, but a grave mistake; now he could resist no attack whatsoever—any single strike would destroy his divine thoughts. Though numerous, if the enemy wielded wide-area spells, he was doomed.

Clearly, this "fragmentation" tactic was useless against Xiang Xiangzi.

In mere moments.

Countless beams vanished.

Emperor Shen Zong was utterly extinguished in the cosmos—not a single divine thought escaped.

With no divine thought to anchor it, the sky's incense belief energy began to unravel, countless plumes of blue smoke blanketing the heavens like great dragons dispersing in all directions.

Li Yi's hundred-zhang giant form now gazed in all directions, scanning for any lingering traces.

"Taiyi, rest assured—I, this Immortal Dame, would never let even one divine thought slip away. Emperor Shen Zong is dead—he cannot possibly revive." Xiang Xiangzi declared with absolute certainty.

"With your word, I am at ease." Li Yi, upon hearing this, quickly withdrew his gaze.

A third-flower cultivator's perception was still trustworthy.

He immediately activated the Great Transformation Technique; his hundred-zhang giant body rapidly shrank back.

This was his first time using such a technique—so far, the results were not bad.

!

"One Yin Son of Heaven is dead—there may be complications ahead. Prepare yourself mentally."

Xiang Xiangzi said: "Also, incense energy cannot keep dissipating again and again—otherwise my Primordial Spirit will keep falling into slumber, and I may never be able to fully nurture this body."

"You're right. I can't stand having Yin Son of Heaven strip me of my Imperial Preceptor title at will. Though it doesn't greatly affect us, it disrupts our cultivation." Li Yi's gaze turned icy: "Then let's seize this chance—do it thoroughly. Track down and kill the other Yin Son of Heaven, and end this once and for all."

"Excellent. That's precisely what we should do." Xiang Xiangzi nodded with a smile—she too could not tolerate the Yin Son of Heaven scheming behind her back.

"While the news of this Yin Son of Heaven's death hasn't spread, we must act immediately," Li Yi said.

Xiang Xiangzi fully agreed.

Either don't act at all—or act to the end.

Since they'd begun, they couldn't leave these enemies alive.

Otherwise, if the Yin Son of Heaven united, they'd become a grave threat; now, defeating them one by one was the only way to achieve lasting peace—otherwise, how could they ever collect incense energy in peace?

"But we need to ask the Golden Eye Guard to learn the locations of the Yin Son of Heaven—I believe my father made preparations for this." Li Yi said.

He then summoned golden auspicious clouds beneath his feet, carrying Xiang Xiangzi toward the gathering point of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Golden Eye Guard.

Due to the battle's impact, they had retreated a hundred li beyond Anshan's territory and were now assembling in an unremarkable small town.

Upon arriving, Li Yi barked: "Where are the Golden Eye Guard?"

"We are here."

Hearing the voice, the Golden Eye Guard gathered from all directions, gazing at Li Yi atop the golden clouds with awe.

After all, they had witnessed Anshan Mountain destroyed in a single battle.

Such power left no room for rebellion.

Li Yi waved his hand; twenty Golden Eye Guard instantly rose on auspicious clouds, drawn into the air. He asked directly: "Emperor Shen Zong has been slain by me. I now wish to know where the other Yin Son of Heaven are located."

Emperor Shen Zong is dead?

The Golden Eye Guard were stunned, their hearts trembling.

They hadn't expected Taiyi True Person could annihilate an Yin Son of Heaven.

"R-Return, True Person, the locations of the other Yin Son of Heaven are all recorded in this map." After a moment of shock, Golden Eye Guard Wang Ning hastily pulled out a scroll from her bosom—it had been entrusted to her by Emperor Shen Wu.

"Good."

Li Yi took it, flipped through it, and saw the map marked the burial sites of each Yin Son of Heaven's imperial mausoleum.

Some Yin Son of Heaven dwelled within their mausoleums, others resided in bustling cities, and some had vanished overseas, their whereabouts unknown.

Not all Yin Son of Heaven could be located.

But most were recorded.

That was enough.

Eliminate most of the Yin Son of Heaven—any few who escaped would be no threat.

(End of Chapter)