Chapter 912: The Patrol of a Regional Deity

Above an ancient vast marsh stood a giant a hundred zhang tall, cloaked in lightning, treading upon auspicious clouds, radiating boundless divine power—each strike seemed ready to pierce through heaven and earth.

At this moment, within the marsh, a six-hundred-zhang-long beast, resembling a true dragon, roared and thrashed wildly in the water, attempting to battle the lightning-wielding deity, but was defeated in a single blow, its azure-yellow blood nearly staining the entire lake.

It desperately tried to flee, but the deity clearly granted it no chance.

Lightning struck down, shattering its scales; a single punch delivered crushing force, nearly breaking its body apart—all within moments of combat.

The beast could no longer fight, lying helplessly in the water, emitting feeble mournful cries.

“A beast with the strength of a Eighty-Mountain Lord? Rare indeed. This must be a Chi dragon—its bloodline superior to that of a jiao dragon, one of the dragon’s offspring.”

Li Yi stood atop the marsh, grasping the Chi dragon’s head; lightning crackled as divine power flowed, subduing the mortally wounded beast.

He then glanced toward the tribe near the marsh—the Fengshui Tribe—whose chieftain had once come to Chijin Mountain seeking aid, begging Li Yi to slay this evil dragon.

With an Eighty-Mountain Lord Chi dragon dominating this marsh, the tribe’s survival was indeed dire, and ordinary warriors could not handle it.

Li Yi had no choice but to come himself.

When the Fengshui Tribe’s chieftain, high priest, and warriors saw the deity defeat the evil dragon, they cheered wildly and knelt toward the divine direction, thanking him for his mercy.

Unfortunately, this world did not generate incense-belief energy; otherwise, Li Yi as a regional deity could have gathered vast amounts of incense power.

Li Yi withdrew his gaze, lifted the six-hundred-zhang-long Chi dragon, and strode away atop auspicious clouds.

He still had other places to reach.

Though his Chijin Kingdom spanned only a thousand li, its area intentionally small, the wilderness’s resources were extraordinarily abundant, spawning many powerful beasts; as a regional deity, he naturally had to eliminate them before they threatened the land.

“Chi dragon, will you submit and serve me, fighting for me in the future? If you agree, I will spare your life, heal your wounds, and let you go. If you refuse, you will die utterly in my hands today.”

Li Yi now attempted to subdue the Chi dragon.

Killing it would be a waste of heaven’s bounty; he had felt regret when he destroyed the suanni on Earth, let alone this Eighty-Mountain Lord Chi dragon.

Yet mythic creatures were notoriously hard to subdue; Li Yi merely tried his luck.

The Chi dragon’s pale blue vertical pupils fixed on Li Yi; as a top predator, even mortally wounded, it still radiated terrifying aura—but before a regional deity, such aura meant nothing.

The silver lightning of heaven and earth could shatter all pride of this Mountain Lord beast.

Moreover, the bloodline of the Thunder Deity surpassed even that of the Chi dragon.

Under total domination, the Chi dragon could not resist; its wounded body continued bleeding, and if it did not answer, its life would end soon.

“You have little time to think. By the time I cross the mountain range ahead, you must decide.” Li Yi’s expression was cold, granting no extra time.

He knew the Chi dragon understood him; when still immature, it had demanded tribute from the Fengshui Tribe, but as its power grew, it became a regional tyrant, no longer satisfied with one tribe’s offerings, even preying on powerful warriors.

Thus, the Fengshui Tribe gradually declined.

But such was the wilderness: beasts ate humans, warriors hunted beasts for meat, weak tribes were swallowed, and only the strong survived.

Li Yi stepped upon auspicious clouds to an ancient mountain range; he remembered that beyond it lay a vast grassland, where another powerful beast dwelled, causing heavy casualties among nearby tribes.

Yet now, the Chi dragon made its choice: it quelled its ferocity, lowered its head, and emitted a low rumble—signaling submission.

“Good. Remember your submission today. Should you ever betray me, I will end your life myself.”

After warning it, Li Yi casually tossed the Chi dragon onto a nearby auspicious cloud, then pulled several fist-sized elixirs from his Chijin Five-Element Bracelet and forced them into its mouth.

These were elixirs crafted by Daoist experts on Chijin Mountain; though their refinement was crude, the world’s abundant medicinal herbs ensured even poorly made elixirs possessed astonishing potency.

After swallowing the elixirs, the Chi dragon’s bleeding ceased, and its wounds healed at a visibly rapid pace.

Its previously dying state now regained some vitality; it could at least lift its body and glide across the clouds.

Seeing this, Li Yi ignored it and arrived upon a vast grassland, spreading his primordial spirit sense to locate the powerful beast in this region.

A beast worthy of a regional deity’s personal intervention must be at least a Fifty-Mountain Lord.

Soon.

He sensed the location of a powerful aura.

Li Yi immediately strode toward it. At the same time,

On a distant grassland, a herd of beast-horses resembling tigers and leopards played together, but among them, a leader beast noticed the distant flash of silver lightning and grew wary.

“Roar!”

The beast leader growled, scattering its herd, then charged toward the direction of the thunder.

It would defend its territory, even against a powerful foe.

But the next instant,

Boom!

A bolt of silver lightning, infused with divine power, descended from the sky—too fast to evade. One strike landed on the beast, splitting its hide, gushing blood.

Though possessing the terrifying strength of a Sixty-Mountain Lord, capable of shattering mountains with a roar, this beast leader was as fragile as an ant before the deity’s might.

The gap in power was too vast to be bridged by courage alone.

“An unfamiliar beast, but strong—it didn’t die.” Li Yi’s hundred-zhang-tall form descended atop auspicious clouds, gazing down at the beast, offering it a choice: “Submit and serve me. Fight for me. I will spare your life.”

The beast leader understood Li Yi’s words; before a regional deity, escape was impossible. Under divine pressure, its entire body trembled.

Yet it refused to leave this grassland or abandon its herd, so it still forced itself upright, roaring defiance at the deity above.

“Refuse submission? Admirable courage. But your existence threatens the survival of several nearby tribes. As a regional deity, I must consider the safety of others—I cannot ignore you.”

Li Yi shook his head slightly, no longer persuading, but ordered: “Chi dragon, consume it.”

The next instant,

From the auspicious clouds, a massive dragon shadow surged forth, striking the beast leader’s face and swallowing it whole—the wounded leader had no time to resist; the battle ended instantly.

After completing this, Li Yi continued toward the next destination.

Being a king of this realm was clearly no easy task—he often had to act personally. Fortunately, he had not blindly expanded his territory; after spending several days touring his thousand-li kingdom and eliminating terrifying beasts, he returned to Chijin Mountain.

Li Yi’s actions undoubtedly greatly strengthened his authority.

Many warriors from various tribes had witnessed the deity of Chijin Mountain wielding lightning, patrolling the Chijin Kingdom, resolving countless grave dangers, and bringing peace and stability to their tribes.

This made the people of these tribes grateful to the regional deity Da Yi, gradually forging cohesion within the Chijin Kingdom.

While Li Yi was busy, the Daoist experts were not idle; they had built a towering metropolis atop Chijin Mountain, completely leveling the former mountain range with Daoist arts.

Outside Chijin Mountain, the Daoists also constructed roads and diverted rivers, giving the place the appearance of a true great city.

In truth, Li Yi had preferred to reside in Shenmu City.

But Xiangxiangzi and Xuan Yuezi strongly opposed it: Shenmu City’s divine tree was too conspicuous, vulnerable to collateral damage in major battles, and its population was entangled with too many factions tied to the Divine Tree lineage; it was simpler and more direct to expand Chishan City atop Chijin Mountain.

Li Yi was reasonable and abandoned the idea.

As time passed,

The expanded Chishan City rapidly prospered, and Li Yi’s influence grew ever larger, as many tribes from beyond a thousand li migrated into the Chijin Kingdom seeking his protection.

“I’ll stay a while longer, then return to Earth.”

Li Yi planned to leave the wilderness once things stabilized—he had no intention of remaining here permanently as a king; all he did was prepare for future cross-world warfare.

In the following period, Li Yi assigned Daoist experts to train warriors, urged Tian Gong Daoist to forge immortal warships and Dao-artifacts, instructed Grand Priest Dou Kun to contact merchant lords to collect possible wondrous treasures, and directed remaining Daoists to govern the thousand-li realm.

Though only a few months had passed, the changes were earth-shattering.

These Three-Flower Realm Daoists were incredibly useful—they understood nearly everything, could handle any task, and after months of cultivation, many had gradually regained their peak strength.

The name of the Chijin Kingdom gradually spread across this ancient land.

Many now knew the name of the regional deity Da Yi; yet some harbored hostility toward the Chijin Kingdom, for the rise of a kingdom inevitably meant expansion and the squeezing of others’ survival space.

Fortunately, Li Yi’s Chijin Kingdom was merely a small thousand-li realm with no intention of outward expansion, reducing many troubles and easing many hearts.