Chapter 957

The Daoist of Heaven’s Work gazed at the Purple-Gold Nine-Dragon Seal in the heavens, his expression now tense. “Because this treasure incorporates a Dragon Pearl and a Star Core, it inherently possesses terrifying power. If we don’t subdue it quickly, the spirit will flee with the jade seal—and then we’ll be in trouble.”

“Even the Divine Martial Emperor couldn’t subdue this treasure. With our combined strength, I doubt we can manage it,” said Wu Mengzi, sounding resigned.

She hadn’t even reached the Full Completion realm; even with the power of incense faith bolstering her, she was still far weaker than Li Jiye.

“Where’s Taiyi? Quickly summon Taiyi—only he can subdue this treasure now,” the Daoist of Heaven’s Work said at once.

In this incense world, the strongest among them, aside from the Divine Martial Emperor Li Jiye, was Li Yi.

But Li Yi had entered seclusion for a month and hadn’t shown his face yet. No one knew if he’d appear at this critical moment—if he came too late and the treasure flew away, it would be a terrible loss.

“Daoist Tian Gong, don’t worry. I already know what’s happened here. Leave the magic treasure to me. Though my injuries haven’t fully healed, subduing it shouldn’t be difficult.”

Suddenly, Li Yi’s voice rang out unexpectedly.

There he stood, appearing in the sky without warning, his gaze solemn as he stared at the true dragon writhing and soaring through the sea of clouds.

Such a momentous emergence of a supreme treasure couldn’t have gone unnoticed by Li Yi, who was resting.

But the moment he emerged, he saw his father, Li Jiye, blasted away—had it not been for the emperor’s divine status and the incense faith protecting him, he might have been in real danger.

“Taiyi, be extremely careful—this spirit is no ordinary one,” Daoist Tian Gong cried urgently.

“I see it now. I never imagined that adding just a small fragment of a Star Core could cause such a dramatic transformation in this jade seal,” Li Yi couldn’t help but marvel at the wonders of creation.

“Perhaps the incense faith of this world also contributed. I must say, Daoist, you’ve forged something extraordinary today.”

“Everyone, please wait a moment. If anything unusual happens, lend your strength to protect this realm and prevent the common folk near Dao Mountain from being harmed.”

“Taiyi, rest assured—we’ve already activated the great array to shield the surroundings,” Wu Mengzi said at once.

“Good.”

After giving his instructions, Li Yi immediately stepped onto auspicious clouds, soared across the heavens, and plunged into the sea of clouds. With his arrival, the entire cloud sea transformed instantly.

Terrifying lightning wove together into a dense, impenetrable net, trapping the spirit dragon.

But the spirit refused to surrender. It let out a dragon’s roar, opened its mouth, and spat forth a violet starlight that tore through the vacuum and shattered the sea of thunder.

A single strike caused the heavens and earth to tremble.

“It’s truly surpassed the power of a Demon King, possessing a fraction of a Demon God’s might. But since it’s merely a spirit, its combat power can never reach the level of a Demon God—yet even this is astonishing. If I’d possessed such a weapon earlier, defeating the Purple Dragon Demon God wouldn’t have been so difficult.”

Li Yi thought to himself, then gripped a massive axe and instantly manifested a hundred-zhang body. Incense faith swirled around him; though his injuries hadn’t healed, his combat power had reached a terrifying height.

Divine power and magic power infused the crimson-gold divine weapon. With one swing, the axe’s light split heaven and earth, slashing toward the spirit.

The spirit sensed the grave threat and instantly summoned the Purple-Gold Nine-Dragon Seal, transforming it into a colossal mountain that blocked the devastating blow.

The axe, powerful enough to destroy heaven and earth, struck the Purple-Gold Nine-Dragon Seal—and left not a single scratch. The shockwave rippled, threatening to shatter the entire sky.

“Damn, is this really just a spirit? Anyone seeing this would think a Demon God walks among us,” Li Yi muttered, his expression shifting—this was going to be tough.

“Taiyi, use your Primordial Spirit energy to subdue the spirit,” Daoist Tian Gong whispered urgently.

A treasure is still just a treasure—not a true enemy. Subduing it doesn’t require bloody combat. Once you control the spirit, the weapon becomes powerless.

Hearing this, Li Yi immediately understood. He stepped forward, his hundred-zhang body flickering as he crossed over the mountain-like jade seal and charged straight at the spirit dragon.

The spirit didn’t flee. It roared and lunged toward Li Yi.

At that moment, Li Yi’s entire body blazed with Primordial Spirit light. A colossal Primordial Spirit manifestation emerged from the heavens and earth—clad in five-colored auroras, flanked by sun and moon, radiating divine glory, standing atop a crimson lotus blooming beneath his feet, majestic and sacred.

The next instant.

The Primordial Spirit manifestation, wielding the supreme lotus, struck once—and severely wounded the spirit.

The true dragon’s form shattered instantly, dissolving into a sky of golden light—but quickly began to coalesce again.

But Li Yi gave it no chance. The supreme lotus flew forth, countless beams of divine light descending like countless ropes, binding the spirit tightly.

The true dragon struggled and roared, even summoning the Purple-Gold Nine-Dragon Seal, trying to use its power to break free—but to no avail.

Li Yi’s Primordial Spirit energy held the spirit fast. Though the Purple-Gold Nine-Dragon Seal was immensely powerful, it now could not unleash a single iota of its might—merely floating silently in the air, utterly still.

As Daoist Tian Gong had said, a treasure is still just a treasure—not a true enemy. Victory doesn’t require a brutal, bloody battle.

Now that the spirit was subdued, the Purple-Gold Nine-Dragon Seal could only fall into Li Yi’s hands.

Soon.

The spirit, sensing it was no match for Li Yi, chose submission—and ceased struggling.

The celestial phenomena calmed. Countless divine lights and spiritual energy began to dissipate.

The mountain-sized Purple-Gold Nine-Dragon Seal shrank steadily until it returned to normal size. The spirit dragon no longer flew wildly—it dove into the jade seal.

As the divine radiance receded, all commotion ceased.

Li Yi held the jade seal in his palm, his Primordial Spirit manifestation returned to his body, and his hundred-zhang form vanished. He stood once more atop Dao Mountain.

“Good. Close call, but no disaster. We subdued the treasure without letting it escape. Daoist Tian Gong, next time you forge something of this caliber, prepare better in advance,” he said with a smile.

Daoist Tian Gong nodded vigorously, then added: “But this treasure hasn’t reached its true limit. I merely experimented with a Star Core as a material—and look what happened. If we forged a weapon entirely from a full Star Core, I wonder how terrifying it would be.”

He stared at the glowing Star Core, his expression burning with fervor.

But soon, Daoist Tian Gong calmed. “Still, my current strength is insufficient. I can only extract a small fragment of the Star Core for forging. This entire piece holds energy too immense for me to control.”

“But this time, we have an abundance of divine materials, Taiyi. What weapon do you need? I’ll forge it for you now—and every piece will be equal to this Purple-Gold Nine-Dragon Seal. I’m certain it will elevate your cultivation further.”

Hearing Daoist Tian Gong’s words, Li Yi was deeply tempted.

His strength was currently damaged and would take time to recover. If he could enhance his power through weapons of this caliber, it wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“I need armor and a weapon,” Li Yi said directly.

Daoist Tian Gong nodded. “I’ve already conceived the design. Let’s forge a Black Gold Star Core Armor and a Demon God Sword. The armor will be forged from Black Gold Divine Iron and Star Core—unbreakable. The sword will fuse the power of the Purple Dragon Demon God with Star Core, Black Gold Divine Iron, and Divine Wood, inscribed with countless killing arrays. I believe that sword could slay a Demon God.”

“Good. Then I’m in your hands, Daoist. Also, please reforge my Crimson Gold Five-Element Bracelet. Use Star Core as the material—it could continuously supply me with boundless cosmic energy.” Li Yi then removed the Crimson Gold Five-Element Bracelet and handed it to Daoist Tian Gong.

Though merely a storage magic artifact, he used it well and wanted to upgrade it.

“A minor matter. But this forging will take several months,” Daoist Tian Gong said.

“Just a few months? I can wait,” Li Yi said.

At that moment, the battered Divine Martial Emperor Li Jiye flew over from afar, his body stained with blood and severely wounded.

But after returning to the Dao Court and seeing the situation calmed, he exhaled in relief.

“Xiao Yi, embarrassing—I’m the Divine Martial Emperor, yet I was blasted away by a spirit. Luckily no one saw it, or it might shake the very foundation of the empire.”

Li Jiye chuckled awkwardly.

Li Yi said: “I only asked Daoist Tian Gong to forge a jade seal worthy of passing down through generations, so I didn’t consider whether you could handle its power. But now it’s fine—I’ve subdued it. You can use it now.”

He tossed the jade seal toward him.

This artifact wasn’t suited for him. The jade seal carried the incense faith of an entire nation—it could only reach its full power in the hands of the Divine Martial Emperor Li Jiye.

If Li Jiye advanced further in cultivation, he could unleash the jade seal’s full might—perhaps even subdue a Demon God.

“Then I won’t be modest,” Li Jiye said, gazing at the new imperial jade seal, instantly enamored.

It wasn’t merely a symbol of power—it represented supreme authority.

“By the way, Father, what did Mother decide about the Fire Phoenix egg?” Li Yi suddenly asked.

Li Jiye smiled and pulled the pulsing Fire Phoenix egg from his storage artifact. “Your mother refused. She doesn’t want to become a Fire Phoenix. She believes her own cultivation will eventually make her a top-tier powerhouse. So take this egg back—give it to someone else, or eat it yourself to recover your strength.”

“As expected,” Li Yi said, not pressing further. He retrieved the Fire Phoenix egg.

At that moment, Wu Mengzi approached. “Taiyi, I have a suggestion.”

“Lady Immortal, please speak,” Li Yi gestured.

Wu Mengzi said: “Do you remember Master Jade Lotus? Her spiritual powers are vast, her magic boundless—but her physical body still hasn’t recovered. If she received a Fire Phoenix body, she’d become a tremendous asset to you.”

Master Jade Lotus?

Li Yi recalled her. He had once repaid her kindness by bringing her to the incense world to save her life. But Master Jade Lotus practiced Buddhist teachings—strange and unsettling, always trying to convert him.

“Where is Master Jade Lotus now?”

Li Jiye said: “The Embroidered Uniform Guard has kept watch on her. She’s been traveling the land healing the sick and spreading Buddhist teachings. Given her uniqueness, I’ve never interfered.”

As emperor, he naturally paid close attention to such a figure.

Li Yi shook his head. “If she wishes to spread her doctrine in this world, let her. She’s not like ordinary people—she’s obsessed with attaining Bodhi. If her strength returns, it might cause trouble.”

Though Master Jade Lotus had saved his life, that was under special circumstances. The Fire Phoenix egg was an extremely precious treasure—he wasn’t willing to give it to someone he didn’t fully trust.

“Then we’ll have to find another candidate,” Li Jiye said. “Xiao Yi, what about your Aunt Biao’s niece, Lin Yue? She’s close to you—why not let her try?”

“Sister Lin?”

Li Yi paused, then said: “Sister Lin’s realm is too low—she likely couldn’t handle Demon God power. But I’ll look into other candidates later and see who might work.”