Chapter 723: Crossing Realms for Aid

"Cough. cough."

A cough echoed from the collapsed rubble, followed by a surge of power that blasted away the surrounding rocks; Battalion Commander Bai Li emerged again, covered in dust.

His face was furious, yet when he looked at Li Yi, he couldn't help but show a flicker of surprise.

"Big Yi, are you challenging the Mountain Lord's authority?" Battalion Commander Bai Li suddenly roared, gripping his bronze hammer tightly—but his palms were now split open and bleeding from the previous impact.

Only those who truly endured that blow could feel the terrifying power behind it.

No wonder he's a direct descendant of divine blood—his strength is truly formidable.

Li Yi stared at him in silence, his lethal killing intent unmistakable; he hadn't forgotten how this Battalion Commander Bai Li extorted a set of armor from him—and now was the perfect chance to settle the score.

His foot shifted.

He vanished from his spot in an instant; the Star-Shattering Spear became a divine light, crashing down with unmatched power.

Battalion Commander Bai Li turned pale with shock—he sensed the danger and frantically raised his blue-gold great hammer to block the attack.

BOOM!

Immense force poured downward; the power of the mid-grade Dao Artifact, the Star-Shattering Spear, was utterly terrifying.

With just this single strike, Battalion Commander Bai Li's massive frame was smashed deep into the solid rock; fortunately, his hammer, forged from blue-gold mixed with crimson-gold, was indestructible—otherwise, the Star-Shattering Spear would have split him apart.

Even so, enduring such a devastating blow nearly shattered his arms; the residual force sent a gush of blood spraying from his mouth, his body feeling as if it would fall apart.

"Big Yi!" Battalion Commander Bai Li, buried underground, roared in fury; his powerful frame surged with strength once more and burst out, ready to counterattack.

"You're no match for me," Li Yi said coldly, letting the attack come.

He merely swung the Star-Shattering Spear, unleashing its mid-grade Dao Artifact power once more.

The next instant, Battalion Commander Bai Li was blasted flying again.

This time, he wasn't so lucky—his weapon was knocked clean from his grip and embedded deep into the nearby mountain, while his hands, unable to withstand the force, shattered and fractured outright.

The sheer gap in raw power left Battalion Commander Bai Li with not the slightest chance of victory.

And this wasn't even Li Yi's full strength.

"Cough. cough."

The fallen Battalion Commander spat blood violently; the agony sharpened his mind, making him realize the vast gulf between himself and this divine-blood warrior.

Fortunately, the Crimson Feather Purple Gold Armor granted him immense defense—otherwise, even the residual force of the Star-Shattering Spear would have torn his body apart.

"Big Yi, you're defying the authority of Crimson Gold Mountain's Lord! Even if you defeat me, you'll never leave Crimson Gold Mountain alive," Battalion Commander Bai Li roared.

Li Yi said: "A Mountain Lord isn't invincible. But what happens next has nothing to do with you. Also, that armor on your body belongs to me—it's time to return it to its rightful owner."

As he spoke, he spat.

A gust of wind turned into roaring flame, instantly engulfing him.

Battalion Commander Bai Li couldn't dodge—he could only endure the flames. Only when they touched his body did he feel their horror: searing heat penetrated every pore, drilling into his organs, scorching them.

"Ahh!"

He screamed in agony, smoke pouring from all seven orifices, then turning crimson; flames erupted from his body, and he burned entirely.

The flames, whipped by furious winds, swirled around him without pause.

Only moments passed.

The nightmare of every slave, Battalion Commander Bai Li, was reduced to ash within the fire—only his charred skeleton remained unburned.

Li Yi reached out with a gesture; the Crimson Feather Purple Gold Armor emerged unscathed from the flames, then shot toward him as a radiant glow, reattaching itself to his body.

In truth, since Dao Artifacts recognize their masters, he could have recalled it before killing this Battalion Commander.

But he didn't.

Recovering it by trickery was inferior to claiming it as spoils after killing him.

"The Battalion Commander is dead," the two remaining Mountain Guards, witnessing this, were stunned and enraged—but they lacked the courage to challenge a divine-blood warrior.

Without a word, they turned and fled.

But it was too late to escape—before Li Yi moved, Jiang Tianming had already drawn his sword and charged.

The two Mountain Guards were swiftly beheaded, dying on the spot.

After the battle ended, Jiang Tianming walked over and said: "Li Yi, what now? Do we leave while we have the chance, or stay and fight the Mountain Lord?"

"With the Battalion Commander dead, our time is running short. If he doesn't appear for long, someone will report this to the Mountain Lord."

Li Yi said: "I followed the direction you confirmed and tunneled through the mountain until I found a massive block of crimson-gold. Inside, it's hollow—something seems sealed within. But I couldn't open it; the crimson-gold is too hard. Even my methods couldn't destroy it."

"I don't know what's sealed inside, but I can feel an overwhelming surge of essence leaking out."

"Even with the crimson-gold blocking it, the leaked essence is terrifying. Imagine what's inside once opened—I suspect it might truly be divine blood."

Jiang Tianming's eyes lit up instantly: "So there really is a treasure?"

As he spoke, Li Yi cleared a relatively spacious area in the mine tunnel, took out the Cross-Dimensional Device from his Five Elements Bracelet, and awakened the AI Lan Ji to begin calibration.

"If there truly is a treasure—and one vital to our cultivation—then let's gamble. Fight this so-called Mountain Lord. If we win, we take over Crimson Gold Mountain and become a Mountain Lord ourselves, and the mountain's treasures become ours. If we lose, we die here—or flee in disgrace."

Jiang Tianming paused, surprised by Li Yi's greater ambition—he wanted to replace the Mountain Lord entirely.

Though the idea was insane, what if it succeeded?

Then they'd truly turn the tables.

Thinking of this, Jiang Tianming's breath grew heavier; he'd mined here for over a year—he knew exactly how much crimson-gold this place produced annually, how many resources it could buy. If they seized it, even a fraction would make him a wealthy magnate.

What couldn't he buy then?

Besides, Li Yi wouldn't dare this without some confidence—he couldn't possibly be without any chance.

"Fine. Let's fight this Crimson Gold Mountain Lord. You prepare here. I'll go contact Zhao Fangji and track down that beast Qiongqi—to confirm whether my Beast Taming Talisman actually worked. If fortune favors us, we'll gain a Mountain Lord-level combatant."

Jiang Tianming decided to gamble with Li Yi.

After more than a year as a slave, if he didn't gamble, how could he turn his fate? Even if he escaped, returning to Earth without sufficient resources would leave him behind in cultivation—he refused to accept that.

"Good. Be careful. If you hide well, the Mountain Lord won't target you—after all, you're still just a slave. No one pays attention to slaves," Li Yi warned.

Because the only people who knew Jiang Tianming's true identity were now dead.

"I understand," Jiang Tianming nodded, then collected the corpses into his storage artifact—erasing all traces—before disguising himself as usual and sprinting toward the mine tunnel's exit.

Meanwhile, Li Yi was installing the Cross-Dimensional Device.

Dragon scale, phoenix feather, and the World Heart Gem—three complete odd artifacts as energy sources—made the Cross-Dimensional Gate open easily, and it instantly locked onto the coordinates of the Incense-to-God world.

In truth, Li Yi still possessed another odd artifact: the Candle-Eye Pearl, bought at great cost from a gem merchant in Beihuang City—but he had no intention of consuming its energy yet.

As the Cross-Dimensional Gate opened,

A staggering surge of incense energy surged toward him, drawn by an invisible force.

With the incense power's augmentation, Li Yi's strength surged in ways unimaginable—he felt as if he were truly becoming a god, omnipotent.

"With incense power and my Moonbow and Black Gold Arrows, I won't fail to kill a Mountain Lord," Li Yi thought.

Yet even as he absorbed the incense energy, he still cast a spell.

His magic power coalesced into a cloud of auspicious mist, which transformed into a celestial crane, then flew upward and plunged into the Incense-to-God world.

This was a minor technique from the Cloud-Riding Spell: the Celestial Crane Message.

Li Yi now guarded the Cross-Dimensional Device, maintaining the gate's opening, while continuing to absorb incense energy.

Fortunately, the three complete odd artifacts provided ample energy—sustaining the gate long-term was easy. If he lacked enough complete odd artifacts, the gate couldn't be maintained for long; once energy ran out, the gate would close.

Thus, opening a Cross-Dimensional Gate was an expensive endeavor.

Meanwhile,

In the Incense-to-God world,

This was the three-hundred-li capital, but beyond it, a Dao Mountain had suddenly descended one night, and upon it, massive construction began—temples and halls rose in a short time.

It was said this was the retreat of the State Preceptor, True Person Tai Yi.

Inside a hall called Tai Yi Hall on the Dao Mountain,

A mature, beautiful Daoist nun sat cross-legged on a warm jade cushion, surrounded by incense mist, bathed in five-colored light, three crystalline Dao Flowers blooming above her head, and the faint fragrance of lotus drifting around her.

Xiang Xiangzi, in this world, used incense energy and the seven-colored stone Li Yi gave her to reconstruct her body, restore her cultivation, and even advance further—now she had reached the realm of Five Qi Aligning, Three Flowers Converging.

One step further, and she could be called Perfect.

To reach this point so quickly, Xiang Xiangzi had marveled countless times at the wonders of this world.

And beside her,

Xuan Yuezi sat on another warm jade cushion, a square seal floating before her—this was the Heavenly Dao Seal, forged by the bald Daoist using the Heavenly Diagram and the damaged Xuan Huang Seal.

At this moment,

The Heavenly Dao Seal breathed like a living thing, absorbing incense energy flowing from across the land.

With this incense energy,

The three Daoist nuns who had perished within the seal truly revived.

Three ethereal figures hovered around the seal, visible only through incense energy—but they remained fragile. To reconstruct bodies and bloom three flowers like Xiang Xiangzi, they still had a long way to go.

"True Person Tai Yi truly has great fortune—it's no lie that the Dao Mechanism Seal chose him. With his help, we came to this world and truly revived our three sisters with incense energy," Xuan Yuezi couldn't help but sigh.

"Five Qi Aligning, Three Flowers Converging."

Xiang Xiangzi's lips curved into a charming smile: "I never thought I'd reach this realm in this lifetime—yet here I am, so soon. And through false cultivation to true attainment, even if I leave this world later, my realm won't regress."

"Thanks to the Divine Martial Emperor, who gathered the world's incense under the name of True Person Tai Yi's Seven Daoist Nuns—without him, none of this would've gone so smoothly. By the way, Xiang Xiangzi, how did you convince the Divine Martial Emperor?" Xuan Yuezi asked.

The world's incense was limited—even the Divine Martial Emperor wouldn't willingly give it away.

Xiang Xiangzi licked her alluring red lips: "I told the Divine Martial Emperor we're both True Person Tai Yi's consorts, and we'll eventually cultivate together through dual cultivation. Naturally, he wouldn't refuse such a small request."

"..." Xuan Yuezi stared at her, momentarily speechless.

"You're deceiving the Divine Martial Emperor—and also deceiving Tai Yi," she added, frowning slightly.

Xiang Xiangzi smiled: "I'm not deceiving Tai Yi. The principle of false cultivation to true attainment—don't you understand it, Xuan Yuezi? Besides, I'm very skilled in dual cultivation—I'll teach you later."

"Pfft, what nonsense about using illusion to cultivate truth." Xuan Yuezi suddenly remembered something, and a flush spread across her icy face, making her spit in disgust.

"Don't be shy. Men marry when they're ready, women marry when they're ready—finding a good Dao partner isn't easy. While our status as the Seven Immortal Maidens is still respected, we should settle this soon. If we wait too long and reach the peak of Taiyi, with the Three Flowers gathering at the crown and the Five Qi converging at the dantian, we'll be far too lowly for them. So don't put on airs—time flies."

Xuan Yuezi said nothing in reply, only pressed her lips together, her eyes flickering faintly as if lost in thought.

But just then.

A celestial crane suddenly appeared outside the palace and let out a cry.

"The Crane Message Technique from the Cloud-Riding Spell?" Both women's smiles vanished instantly, and they exchanged a glance.

In the entire world of incense-based godhood, only the two of them could use this method.

But clearly, this celestial crane was not summoned by either Xiang Xiangzi or Xuan Yuezi.

The only possibility was that the crane had crossed over from another realm.

"It's Taiyi coming for us," Xuan Yuezi said at once, waving her hand casually—the door swung open, and the crane flapped its wings inside, then dissolved into a cloud of auspicious mist before their eyes.

A message emerged from within the mist.

(End of Chapter)