Chapter 464: Chapter 182: Sword Cleaves Divine Shrine
"Let Chu Yan, that lunatic, take the lead," Jiang Li had decided. Amidst the Sun Golden Light, his figure flickered as a shadow emerged from his body, vanishing from sight, while his original form now showed the Armored Horse Talisman on his legs and golden light shone on his body, shielding him from the Sun Qi. At the same time, he darted and soared into the air, hastily retreating.
The Fifth Grade Dao Fruit he had contained was of Earth Immortal An Qisheng, possessing the Dao Fruit Divine Power of creating shadow avatars. Although this shadow avatar’s strength was far inferior to the original, it was sufficiently deceptive at this moment.
Elsewhere, the big man Chu Yan invoked the Thunder God’s Telekinesis, growing three inches taller, his dharma body merging with the ethereal figures of the Thunder God General and his troops; spectral armor adorned his form, and he gathered Thunder Light around him, repelling the fiery arms in his path.
"Thunder God, aid me!"
Boom!
A green thunderbolt struck down from the sky—the Thunder God lending strength through Faith Telekinesis. Chu Yan’s body was injected with thunder, one hand wielded like an axe, the other like a hammer, smashing and chopping with unparalleled ferocity, as if he would tear apart the very light itself.
"Giant Spirit True Gang."
With his arms swinging wide open, Chu Yan’s fists suddenly pounded out. He was like a Giant Spirit covered in the power of thunder, his Furious Fist Power raging through, with the green thunder drawn to him bursting forth.
"Boom!"
The Sun Golden Light rippled aside like water being displaced, the thunderbolts roaring. The assault targeted the exposed Sun Wheel, where Jiang Li was at the moment.
"An excellent opportunity!"
Simultaneously, Zuo Qinghong’s figure appeared not far behind Jiang Li, raising the Peach Wood Sword as a several-zhang-long Sword Light burst forth from the Hundred Convergence point.
"Heaven and earth, the profound origin, Innate Qi, the root of everything.
Enduring billions of calamities, to prove my divinity."
Crack!
The Sword Light left the body, making the sound of thunder, emitting a majesty that compelled all beings. Zuo Qinghong had pushed the Golden Light Spell to its limit. The golden light morphed into a sword, cleaving down from the void. Unresistable in its path.
"Jiang Li is in danger," Qingyuan Mountain Man exclaimed with glee.
"My fellow cultivators, let us join forces. There’s no need to speak of any Jianghu morality with this insolent person."
Fang Yesheng, who had come with Zuo Qinghong, immediately rallied those around him to attack as a group but positioned himself one step behind, stealthily moving to the rear.
A group of Daoists, Powerful Warriors, and Doctors were ready to strike, waiting to launch a collective attack right after the two initial assailants.
But unexpectedly—
Jiang Li was enveloped in intense golden light, shining from within, cascading over him, and revealing Red Patterns that emanated a heaven-reaching and earth-spanning might.
In that instant, a trace of golden Qi spilled from the Divine Farmer’s Cauldron in his sleeve, entering Jiang Li’s body. His Innate Qi absorbed and transformed it, aligning his Qi Mechanism with that of the Divine Farmer’s Cauldron. Jiang Li met Chu Yan’s punches with a single palm, which, as if endowed with Gravity, drew the massive punch towards it.
You have external force; I am not lacking either.
In terms of resources, Jiang Li did not consider himself inferior to anyone. In fact, if it weren’t for the presence of these Fourth-Grade cultivators, he could even display his dharma body that had integrated the Three Emperors’ Merits.
As fist met palm, the Supreme Yang of the Great Sun incinerated Chu Yan’s True Gang and the thunderbolts, even converting the raw strength of the punches into pure heat.
’Even the force itself is melting...’
Jiang Li sensed this transformation, marveling internally, while the Sun Wheel around him transformed, refining and dissolving the Sword Light into nothingness.
At the same time, hot air burst forth from his palm, burning gold and boiling iron. The gloves on Chu Yan’s hands melted at a visibly rapid pace, fusing his fists together. The buzzing of the sword tip passed by, and a scorching red sword mark suddenly appeared on Chu Yan’s arms.
"Ahhhh!!!"
He bellowed, his arms falling off with the severed ends charred black, the flesh scorched into chunks by the high-frequency sword.
Immediately, sunlight crushed the ground, expanding outward, swallowing up Chu Yan’s figure and igniting Zuo Qinghong’s body out of thin air.
"Boom!"
A heatwave forcefully pushed in all directions, causing not only Zuo Qinghong but also the crowd intent on attacking to retreat in a disgraceful scramble. Nearly ten people, unable to escape in time, found their True Qi suddenly igniting, burning from within, and turned into screaming fire people.
"Not good!"
In the sky, the Thunder God sensed the demise of his Faith Telekinesis, indicating that Chu Yan had met with disaster. He immediately attempted to intervene, but Elder Tianpeng’s assault was like an overwhelming tide. With one pair of arms drawing a bow, an arrow condensed from lightning pierced the sky and went through the Thunder God Dharma Manifestation’s right arm that was about to intervene.
Meanwhile, Sword Qi surged forward, slicing its path towards the Xuanyuan Hall, cleaving open the main doors with a single stroke, revealing Jiang Li’s figure within the grand hall.
He swept his gaze around and saw a majestic divine statue in the center of the hall, clad in an Emperor’s Robe, representing the image of Emperor Xuan Yuan.
To the left and right stood four freshly erected divine shrines, each enshrining two male and two female divine statues.
Two of them clearly depicted Lei Kun and the Mother of Lightning. Though made of clay, one could discern the Divine Power of the two fourth-grade experts. The other two included one with brownish-yellow hair and flying sleeves, seemingly the Marquis of Wind, one of the Four Gods, and the other, a majestically beautiful woman in blue palace attire, with an air somewhat similar to Tianxuan, presumably the Master of Rain.
Upon seeing these four divine statues, Jiang Li didn’t hesitate. Wielding his sword, he slashed down, his high-frequency Sword Light leaving scorching traces as he split the Thunder God’s shrine in two, along with the statue.
"How dare you!"
A fierce reprimand from the woman’s spiritual image in the red-dressed Mother of Lightning statue, her piercing eyes seemed to shoot out bolts of lightning, her vast Divine Power sweeping towards him.
The divine statues, which collected the faith of the Four Gods, though not in their entirety, were still capable of replenishing the battle energy of the two gods at this critical time. Damage to the statues also brought a hint of concern for the two divine entities.
"What is there for me not to dare?"
Jiang Li chuckled softly, swinging two more slashes, one slicing through the Marquis of Wind’s statue and the other decapitating the Rain Master Divine Statue, and then...
He refrained from striking at the Mother of Lightning’s statue, turning his gaze instead to the central statue.
’Ancestor, I am being disrespectful,’ Jiang Li acknowledged silently in his heart.
If one were to trace his surname from his previous life, he, Jiang Li, could also be considered a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. Although in his past life, descendants of the Yellow Emperor could be found everywhere, there was still a connection.
Now, about to use the Yellow Emperor’s divine statue as a leverage, Jiang Li mentally offered his "disrespect."
Then, his Sword Qi surged, faintly locking onto the central statue as he sternly said, "Stop."
If you don’t stop, I’m going to take action.
This audacious move left even the Mother of Lightning momentarily speechless, and thunder exploded in the sky outside, as the two gods were pressed by Elder Tianpeng.
Inside the hall, Jiang Li’s stance suggested he was ready to strike.
"Jiang Li, how dare you!" the voice of the Mother of Lightning screeched like thunder.
Regardless of whether the Four Gods genuinely held devout faith towards Yellow Heaven, they could not stand by and watch their statues destroyed. If the news spread, it would undermine the very foundation of the Taiping Sect.
Just as a monk seeing someone attacking a Buddha statue must try to stop them, irrespective of their inner beliefs, at least outwardly they must profess faith.
"You can try," Jiang Li stated indifferently.