The Emperor Reigns Them All

Chapter 231 It’s None of My Business

Li Ye followed the official path. He looked as if he was walking slowly, but in actual fact, he was covering a distance of 90 meters with each step.

He shot quickly past the greenery along both sides of the path, and the mountains far away in his horizon continued to retreat. A cool breeze blew across his face, and he felt at peace with himself.

Suddenly, Li Ye stopped.

In front of him, along the official path, in the plains, and on the hills, stood 18 men in the cool night wind. All of them were monks dressed in white.

They looked like spirits that had appeared out of thin air or sculptures that had been erected a long time ago. It did not matter what sort of aura they possessed, however. There could only be one reason for their appearance—to stop Li Ye from traveling further west.

Or rather, they were here to send him west to Paradise.

Li Ye took a step forward. The dirt on the ground where his feet landed twirled and dissipated.

At the same time, a few stars flickered in the night sky in front of him, as if Venus was shining. They were closely packed together, and each of them was at a different spot in the sky. The white, star-like glow soon revealed themselves, and they were 36 monks dressed in white robes.

The 18 Guardian Deities and 36 Arhats of the Buddhists had arrived in unison.

Li Ye clasped his hands behind his back and surveyed his opponents. He was calm and poised.

In such chaotic times, while the Emperor was displaced, and Luck was scattered all over the lands, many factions vied with each other to gain control over the world. Aside from the Han Chinese, the Northwestern tribes were also involved, as well as the sects from the Central Kingdom and foreign lands.

As such, during this age of turmoil, the Buddhists summoned all of its experts to join in the hunt for Li Ye. Powerful monks from the 18 temples of the North and 36 Yards of the Western Regions had gathered at Fengxiang.

They had the ambition of entering the Central Plains and were intent on gaining control of the entire world.

The Tang Empire still existed, but its influence was no longer as strong as it used to be. The saintly and pure land of the East was now crawling with demons and devils.

It was truly an age of turmoil. Not only was the imperial empire crumbling and order degenerating, even the trust and faith of people were being severely tested, while the quality of their culture and land was also rapidly deteriorating.

Would the emergence of all sorts of characters and factions force the empire to rise to greater heights, or would it be condemned to self-destruct?

Li Ye remained motionless. Each of the 18 Northern temples had a Guardian Deity, and each of the temples in the Western Regions had an arhat. They were experts of the Spiritual Master Realm, and it was no exaggeration that the Buddhists had dozens of Guardian Deity Realm experts in their ranks.

Li Ye could sense a sinister plot brewing.

Ever since the Buddhists of the Eastern Han Dynasty spread their teachings eastward, they had never achieved much support and were always being suppressed by the Taoist sects, even though they never fully developed and had their moments.

Out of the four schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Militarism, the three sects from the Central Kingdom enjoyed their moments of dazzling brilliance. The Han Dynasty introduced the concept of filial piety and honesty when nominating officers for civil office until the imperial examinations were promoted during the Sui Dynasty. The disciples of Confucianism kept expanding and producing countless numbers of famous officials that were well respected by the people. The Militants achieved glorious feats during times of chaos, exemplified by Huo Qubing of the Western Han Dynasty, who was revered for millennia, and Chen Qingzhi, who coolly got his army to dress in white. Legends of his feats were passed on for generations, and he enjoyed the benefits of a splendid reputation.

The Buddhists had never achieved such feats.

As Li Ye observed the 18 Guardian Deities and 36 Arhats, he suddenly realized that the Buddhists had not remained idle all this while. Instead, they were prepping themselves for this very day.

Otherwise, during an age where even the five great Taoist sects were unable to produce many Spiritual Masters, why would the Buddhists be able to gather dozens of the Guardian Deity Realm experts?

They were planning to take control of the world.

If they could control the Emperor and slay Li Ye, thereby dictating world events, they would be able to strike the nine continents with awe and sweep through the entire universe!

“Is the world in such a bad state currently?”

Li Ye sneered secretly. The Divine Land had always been a place of prosperity, wealth and unity. The greatness of its civilization and fame spread all over the world. Who wouldn’t covet such a wonderful place?

At this instant, Li Ye was suddenly enlightened. He understood why the Buddhists were emerging and interfering with matters of the Tang Empire, and why the dynasty would face threats from all angles.

...

“The quality of the Central Kingdom’s civilization had always been greater than that of tens of thousands of its neighbors. Its fame rang out ever since the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. Ban Chao, who was just a scholar, managed to pacify the 36 nations in the Western Regions and prevent them from invading the Central Kingdom, while a fifth-ranked official like Wang Xuance managed to conquer an entire foreign nation thousands of miles away. Who wouldn’t covet a blessed kingdom that was so prosperous and could produce such strong people and great talents?”

There was a small island bathed in moonlight situated on the East Sea. It had lush greenery, and there was a hut beside a scenic spot on the island. A wooden corridor, which extended about 10 steps into the sea, was built in front of the hut. A man dressed in plain cotton clothes and wooden clogs was fishing at the end of the corridor, and he was the person who spoke earlier on.

It was impossible to describe the man’s facial features. This was because no one could determine his personality just by looking at him. His body looked ethereal as if he was not really present, and his voice was emotionless yet with pity, as well as heavy and worn, as if he had gone through countless numbers of years and had already understood the true meaning of life.

Beside this man, there was someone else sitting on his side on a wooden chair. He wore the worn-looking robe of a Taoist priest that was heavy patched up and looked as though it was made up from random pieces of cloth. His hair was extremely messy and looked like a bird’s nest, and it looked as though he had not washed himself for a long while. What was even more terrible was that he was cradling his foot and digging at it, before extending his black fingers to clean his nostrils.

“Cease that meaningless talk,” said the old Taoist priest dressed in brown. “I have a question for you now.”

“Tell me about it,” said the old man who was fishing. He looked to be smiling slightly.

“Did you put any bait or hook on your fishing line?” asked the old Taoist priest seriously.

The man who was fishing laughed. He was helpless when faced with the shabby looking Taoist priest. “I’m not Old Master Jiang. I’m fishing for fish and not people.”

The old Taoist priest in brown grunted coldly and raised his head to look at the vast night sky. “I’m afraid someone is trying to ‘fish’ for you, even if you’re not ‘fishing’ for anyone,” he said in a profound voice, his voice traveling far into the distance.

“Have you seen the line?” the man who was fishing asked, remaining emotionless.

The old Taoist priest twisted his mouth. “I can’t see it, but I can sense it. You should have gone up a long time ago, but you remained behind in the mortal world. Naturally, those Immortals in their Court are not pleased about this and want to reel you up. Not everyone can receive such treatment; the Immortal Court would not bother itself with ordinary people trying to become one of them. There’s no lack of their kind anyway. You’re different, however. As long as you don’t join them, they’ll worry about what sort of trouble you’ll be causing.”

He was talking about cultivators and their quest to attain immortality. Any ordinary person would laugh and claim that the Taoist priest was mad, but any Spiritual Master who heard his alarming statement would be shocked.

The man who was fishing merely replied, “You need bait to fish. The Immortal Court didn’t offer me any enticing bait, and even if they forcefully sunk their hook in me to direct my fate, it’ll be pointless.”

The Taoist priest in brown exclaimed as if he had heard something amazing. “Isn’t longevity enticing enough? Don’t tell me that you’re unafraid to die?”

The fishing line moved, and a school of fish swarmed toward the bait beneath the azure water, chewing happily on it. However, they did not seem to have bitten on any hook after they had consumed all the bait. The man retrieved his rod and re-attached a handful of earthworms from the bamboo cask at his side before throwing it back into the water.

There was no iron hook beneath the bait at all.

“Everyone wants to live forever, but is that really so good?” the man replied casually.

The Taoist priest lied down on the corridor and rested his head on both arms. He gazed at the night sky, which was full of stars, and raised one leg upon the other. “The Buddhists are making a grand appearance in the Central Plains and have sent out dozens of Guardian Deity Realm experts. Tsk, tsk...a battle like this will be of frightening proportions. Foreign armies will be able to ride straight in, and Hexi, which has been annexed, will fall to Tubo and Uighur again. Needless to say, the Western Regions will also be involved. The eight Qidan tribes of the plains have also produced a great talent known as Ye’lyu Ah Bao Ji.”

“The Buddhists from the Western Regions, Divine Sect of Qidan, Moni Sect of Uighur, Moon God of Tubo and Witch King of Nanzhao have been swallowing up pieces of the Tang Empire’s borders, and they want to allow their devotees to conquer the Central Plains, thereby taking over this Eastern sacred land and obtaining the faith of the Han people. They would then receive the offerings of our people and ensure that their legacies live on forever.”

“What about us Taoists? We’re still fighting among ourselves, whether covertly or in the open.” “A once in a lifetime talent like Li Ye has been produced, but we’re preparing to kill him with the Great Immortal-killing Formation.”

“Sigh, I don’t know if the immortals in the Divine Court will be able to prevent the gods supporting the various feudal princes from invading, and whether they’ll be able to protect the Immortal Court. Say, would you care, now that the world is in such great chaos, and the great Tang Empire is facing its doom?”

The man who was fishing remained silent.

The Taoist priest did not expect him to reply either.

“I can’t help but feel excited about the impending battle of Immortals.”

The Taoist priest laughed suddenly. “Everyone says that Li Ye, who was unable to practice cultivation for two decades, inherited the skills of Yuan Tiangang, and his level of cultivation skyrocketed as a result. Haha, hahahaha... I find that so funny!”

The Taoist priest behaved as though he had just said an incredibly funny joke and was beside himself with laughter. He clasped his belly and rolled around the floor.

The corners of his companion’s lips twitched. “What the hell has that got to do with me?”

...

Li Ye had no problem imagining that these Guardian Deity Realm experts would storm Fengxiang and hold Li Yan hostage tomorrow if he died by their hands tonight.

What would happen to the world if the Tang Emperor fell into the hands of the Buddhists?

Would they support Li Guochang’s bid to achieve hegemony, or would they join forces with Li Keyong and strike against the feudal princes?

Li Ye did not know what the Buddhists had planned, but no matter what choice they made, they held the upper hand. This was because they had dozens of Guardian Deity Realm experts, 800 warrior monks and the Great Six Paths of Reincarnation Formation.

They had struck unexpectedly, unleashing their preparations over the last eight centuries in one go. They also possessed the highly experienced crack troops from Fengxiang and Yanmen. “Who else could withstand their might? Zhu Wen? Gao Pian? Or Wang Jian and Li Maozhen, who were still adolescents? Impossible.”

The “heroes” of the Tang Empire were in a weakened state and helpless in deciding the fate of its future.

What about the Taoist sects?

The five great Taoist sects and countless other Taoist temples enjoyed the worship of devotees in the Divine Land over the last few millennia, and their position was never really threatened. As such, they had become complacent, and their strength was slowly eroding. If this were not the case, the Buddhists would not have been parading their might so openly now.

Would the Buddhists really take over the world?

Li Ye took a step forward.

Neither the Taoists nor the Buddhists could be allowed to take over the world. The only one who could do that was the True Dragon, whose own existence was closely connected to all life.

As such, all of these people had to die!

“No one else except for me will be able to deal with these Guardian Deities!”

“No one else except for me can ensure the continued existence of our empire!”

Li Ye advanced with the sword in his hand, Spiritual Qi surging wildly. His clothes and hair were flapping even though there was no wind, giving him a wild and yet grand appearance.

“Li Ye!”

The 18 Guardian Deities from the North of the Tang Empire, who were in front of their compatriots, shouted in unison. They obviously worked in a group, and their unified shot shook the entire surrounding.

Sounds like rumbling thunder rang out in the night sky for no reason at all. They kept rising and falling, reverberating continually. It was as if the stars themselves were shaking and about to fall off from the sky.

It was the cultivation power unleashed by the 18 Guardian Deities, and it already shook the entire surrounding land, distorting Li Ye’s vision. It was not merely the combination of all 18 Spiritual Masters’ cultivation; it also contained the magical power of the monks working as a group.

A round Spiritual Qi ripple, shaped like a trumpet, flew suddenly toward Li Ye from the epicenter of the group as they shouted.

A gale was created, and dirt and rocks were unearthed anywhere the ripple traveled. Trees were sliced off and greenery turned to ash.

As the trumpet-shaped ripple continued to expand, causing its front to grow to a three-meter radius, giving it an incredibly terrifying shape of a world-ending hurricane. A huge amount of earth and rocks were swept away, leaving behind a ravine that kept extending. Eventually, its length and width were even greater than that of a river bed.

The 18 Guardian Deities were still shouting in unison. “You, demon, have brought harm upon this world. If you were willing to turn over a new leaf after meeting us, you could have been cleansed by us and would have a chance to repent for your sins, thereby being reincarnated as a human in your next life. Now that you’ve killed and maimed our fellow disciples and committed a terrible sin, you can’t be forgiven. If we don’t take you down right here, the laws of Nature will be meaningless, and us Buddhists would be disgraced! Li Ye, kneel down and receive your punishment if you know what’s good for you!”

Li Ye advanced with the sword in his hand, his steps incredibly steady. The gale of Spiritual Qi swept in front of him and covered the skies, causing bits of earth and rocks to be hurled toward him.

The trees around him kept creaking and eventually splintered off. The pieces of wood were swept off the ground and twirled in the air as they were ground into dust.

The epicenter of the gale, which was revolving backward in an insane fashion, was eerie and dark, causing anyone who looked at it to feel giddy. It was as if the Gates of Hell were contained within the gale, and it wanted to suck Li Ye in to torment him.

There was no spot in front of Li Ye that was left undamaged, but he still looked resolute and fearless, as if he was not facing the Gates of Hell or a gale of Spiritual Qi, but a calm lake in spring and a cool breeze.

His expression remained unchanged as he took in a deep breath of air. The Spiritual Qi in his body was surging wildly, and his Dragon Qi was unleashed, causing numerous green lotuses to bloom. An illusory-looking ray of Dragon Qi surged into his meridians, along with the scattered star light from the lotuses.

Li Ye fixed his steely gaze in front of him. He retracted his left hand and formed a fist with it at his waist.

The Spiritual Qi in the space around his left fist seemed to solidify with this motion. It kept congregating toward his palm, as he wielded them. The surrounding air was distorted, and a large, pitch-black void suddenly appeared in the grey, moonlit sky.

Li Ye opened his fist and struck it out at a speed that was much faster than it looked. He condensed his Spiritual Qi as much as he could, creating crackling sounds in the space around him. It was distorted and torn apart, leaving only a pitch-black void behind.

All of sudden, green starlight appeared on his palm. It looked as though Venus had lit herself up in the vast, infinite darkness. A purple ray shot past, instantly turning to a purple mist that pervaded the air in a 30-meter radius around Li Ye.

The purple cloud clashed and ground with the gale, eventually shattering and vanishing.

A green dragon materialized on Li Ye’s arm and leaped out, gathered on his palm before dashing out suddenly toward the black swirling vortex.

In the blink of an eye, the gale in front of the green dragon dissipated bit by bit. Eventually, the dragon dashed right into the black vortex and ignited a loud and wild explosion. The resulting wave of Spiritual Qi swept across the surrounding greenery and grass, instantly turning them into the dust which vanished with the wind.

The surrounding land was completely levelled, as though it had went through the Apocalypse.

The wild wave of Spiritual Qi had still not subsided when Li Ye charged forward with sword in hand. There was a streak of blood on the corner of his lips. Evidently, he did not have it easy when his Purple Qi Phaseless Palm met the combined might of the 18 Guardian Deities head on.

Li Ye closed down the distance of about 100 steps between his opponents and him instantly. The 18 Guardian Deities stood in front of him, scattered like constellations in the night sky.

All of the monks looked surprised to see him charging at them. Their combined power was enough to injure the Divine Yin Spiritual Master seriously, yet Li Ye, a Spiritual Pool Master, was only slightly wounded. It was completely unexpected.

“Sword Qi Born Lotus!” Li Ye growled as the Luke Sword stabbed at a Guardian Deity.

He could tell with one glance that the 18 Guardian Deities had taken up very specific positions that were secretly part of a formation. It would amplify their attacking power.

If he stood rooted to the spot, he would face endless magical attacks from his opponents.

His only option was to draw close and slay one of the monks. Only then could he break the formation of 18 Deities.

The Luke Sword stabbed at the Guardian Deity who was standing at the core of the formation. If Li Ye could slay him, he would definitely be able to disrupt his opponents to a great extent.

“You dare, demon?!” the Guardian Deities shouted in unison, enraged at seeing Li Ye charging toward them with the intent to kill.

Their voices seemed to be amplified, as a mini Spiritual Qi wind-like energy wave arrived in front of Li Ye appeared before Li Ye in an instant. It was not as powerful as their combined attack, but still, it was not to be trifled with.

If Li Ye met it head on, he would be severely injured.

They were acting to ease the pressure off their formation. After all, the position their opponent was in would affect the operation of the entire formation and could not be taken lightly.

They did not believe that Li Ye would face the attack head on. If he did not, and if he was severely injured, he would only end up dead. Even if he managed to kill the Great Guardian Deity, he would perish in the process.

However, Li Ye was completely fearless. He acted as though he had not seen the attack about to strike him and did not attempt to block it with his sword. Instead, he allowed it to hit him.

He grunted, and his blood gushed up to his mouth from his throat. He did not allow it to come out of his mouth; however, as he did not want the action to delay his attack nor allow the Great Guardian Deity a chance to survive.

Li Ye was moving with great speed, and the Great Guardian Deity could only release a ripple of Spiritual Qi like the others. Suddenly, green lotuses bloomed in front of it, and it felt the cold steel of the Luke Sword slide across its throat. Blood gushed out of the wound like a fountain.

The Great Guardian Deity stared wide-eyed at Li Ye right up till its death, fear, and disbelief in his eyes. He did not seem to understand why Li Ye would choose to die along with him. His opponent had acted so decisively and completely without any hesitation.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes even wider, and his gaze filled with hope. He wanted to witness his companions slaying Li Ye, and that he had successfully dragged his opponent down with him to the Underworld.

The Great Guardian Deity was about to be disappointed, however. Even though Li Ye was struck and injured, he did not suffer serious injuries. He vanished before the 17 remaining Guardian Deities could launch another attack. “Step-by-step Lotus!”

The Great Guardian Deity’s body fell from mid-air, his eyeballs protruding out of his sockets. He had died an unfulfilling death.

His surviving companions felt the same way. Even though Li Ye was moving at great speed, and they were scrambling to deal with him, their Spiritual Qi energy waves were enough to wound him critically. Now, however, the impossible had happened. Li Ye was still able to launch attacks with his sword, and he had vanished.

Crackling and pulsing sounds suddenly rang out in the night sky, as seven green lotuses bloomed in the air. The throats of another seven Guardian Deities were also slit.

Those who were struck by his sword were unable to remain suspended in the air and fell down to earth like dumplings being thrown into a pan.

Like the Great Guardian Deity, they had died with a grievance. They were unable to accept the fact that Li Ye still possessed such great battle prowess.

The surviving monks were shocked and greatly enraged. All of them were staring wide-eyed in anger.

At the same time, however, they realized that Li Ye was wearing something else underneath his flowing green robes when he appeared again.

It was a kasaya very familiar to them, and they recognized it with one look.

Fa Yi’s kasaya!

It was naturally an incredibly powerful defensive artifact of the Buddhists, since it could withstand the full might of Li Ye. It fell to Li Ye after Fa Yi discarded it to save his own life, and Li Ye unabashedly put it on after activating it with magic.

Its defensive properties were not for one-time use only. As long as it was infused with Spiritual Qi, it could be used for multiple times. Li Ye’s sword attack had merely used up the reserve of Spiritual Qi in the artifact earlier on.

Li Ye wore it under his green robes so as not to draw attention to himself.

The 18 Guardian Deities and 36 Arhats were experts of the Spiritual Master Realm, and Li Ye felt he had to take some extraordinary measures to defeat them.

Due to the suddenness of this attacks, Li Ye’s opponents were caught unaware and scrambled to deal with him. As such, they could not connect his survival to the kasaya.

Li Ye retreated hurriedly after appearing. His eyes were filled with killing intent, and the corners of his lips were arched slightly, forming an icy sneer.

As a group, the offensive and defensive capabilities of the 18 Guardian Deities were greater than simply the sum of their individual strengths. If Li Ye had used the Step-by-step lotus, a sword technique that was meant to deal with a group of opponents, to fight against them while they moved in unison, it would most likely be unable to pierce through their defense or even be blocked. As such, he could only focus all of his power on one of them. He would only have a chance of destroying their formation if he managed to kill that monk. After the death of the Great Guardian Deity, the formation was weakened, and it was only then that Li Ye managed to slay seven more monks with the technique.

Li Ye’s rich experience in battle produced instant results in this tough battle.

All of that had been accumulated through transmigration, and it was the foundation upon which he roamed the Cultivation World with.

No matter how strong the 18 Guardian Deities were, how could their actual experience in battle and skills in improvisation compare with the Divine Yin God Li Ye, who was now at the third rank of the Spiritual Master Realm, the highest class?

Li Ye brought his sword up to his brows. His gaze was cold.

“Demon!”

“You used trickery. You’re truly a demon!”

“Are you still trying to flee, you despicable, dirty dog? Die!”

“We’ll not be worthy of being called the Guardian Deities of the Buddhists if we don’t take you down today!”

“We have to kill you today. Otherwise, you’ll bring harm to more people in the future!”

The ten remaining Guardian Deities were incredibly angry at realizing Li Ye’s shenanigans.

All of them could not control themselves at seeing Li Ye retreat and came charging toward him.

As the 18 Guardian Deities of the Buddhists, not only did they possess the greatest battle prowess among the Buddhists of the Tang Empire, they were also respected and worshipped every day. They were stoked and wanted to unleash their skills to win over control of the world for their compatriots. Now, however, eight of them were slain by Li Ye’s ‘tricks’ in their maiden battle, and the disgrace was too much for them to bear, nor had they bore such great humiliation. As such, all of them were enraged.

Ten great golden Buddha statues rose up into the air behind their backs.

In an instant, they covered the skies and gold rays of light emanated from them.

The expressions of the statues were different, and they displayed a range of emotions from joy, anger, and sorrow. These were the emotions of all beings in the world, and the very same emotions that Buddhists sought to rid themselves of. They sought to comprehend the Buddha’s teachings as they progressed in cultivation, eventually arriving at a stage devoid of emotion and thereby arriving at the Realm of Consciousness.

The Formation of 18 Guardian Deities was already broken, and the surviving monks began to unleash their individual skills instead.

The 10 great statues stood erect in the air, shielding half of the sky from sight and bathing the surrounding in gold light once more. The birds and beasts in the woods were shocked and either fled in a hurry or shrieked and ran amok in the woods. In an instant, it became extremely chaotic.

The monks’ attacks varied from punches, palm strikes, gold sabers, staffs, and scepters. Even though eight of their companions had been slain, the combined attack of the remaining 10 monks was not something that the Divine Yin God could take lightly.

The blade of the Luke Sword glinted as Li Ye held it before his brows. It was not covered in flames of Spiritual Qi, but instead, it looked as though it had reverted to its primal self. He brushed his finger across the blade, and it suddenly shot into the air with a loud sound. Li Ye’s gaze was electrifying as he pinched his fingers into an Incantation Gesture, growling, “Mountain of Green Lotus!”

He did not use this technique earlier in fear that it could not break through the formation. Now that only 10 of the Guardian Deities were left, his fears were also gone.

The Luke Sword transformed into a lightning bolt and flew into the sky right in front of the 10 statues, each wearing a different expression.

With a crackling sound of thunder, purple clouds rose into the night sky. They surged wildly, causing countless bolts of lightning to rain down successively. The clouds rumbled and transformed, while the Luke Sword itself gave off a great amount of purple light, turning into a great purple mountain. Green lotuses bloomed on the mountain, and they glowed intermittently under the flashing lightning, giving them an illusory look.

“Die, Li Ye!”

“Demon, you’ll be ground into dust and be unable to reincarnate yourself forever!”

“Take down the demon!”

The 10 Guardian Deities shouted consecutively.

They felt fear in their hearts the moment the Mountain of Green Lotus appeared. It was a sense of imminent danger, and it pierced right through into their bones, causing their very souls to tremble. They were shocked and knew that Li Ye’s sword technique was incredibly powerful. The monks did not dare hesitate and unleashed all of their might, charging toward Li Ye as they shouted to bolster their own courage.

The 36 arhats were already making preparations of attack, but they looked at each other upon witnessing the scene in front of them and stopped.

They came from the 36 temples of the Western Region and wore different styles of clothing. Their cultivation method also differed from that of the Tang Empire monks. Both schools rarely dealt with each other, and their formations were not mutually conducive.

They wanted to extend their aid upon seeing eight of the Guardian Deities fall, but their own Arhat Formation could not be unleashed if the 10 survivors remained in battle. They could only launch individual attacks at the moment.

Even if they did so, they could handle ordinary opponents with no problem at all. Their opponent, however, obviously had the power to kill a Guardian Deity Realm expert in the blink of an eye. If they attacked rashly, there would be a large number of casualties, even if they won. It was not something they wished for.

“Fall!”

Li Ye said icily and without emotion.

The Mountain of Green Lotus crashed down suddenly. It looked to be high above the air, but in fact, it came falling down very quickly. In an instant, the surrounding 300-meter radius was covered under its shadow.

As its shadow fell upon the wilderness, the golden light that had previously covered the earth seemed to be shrouded in a thick layer of darkness. It looked neither gold nor dark and seemed extremely mysterious.

It was a fleeting moment, however. The mountain soon crashed upon the ten great statues, causing gold light to explode in the clouds, and it swept across the sky like a huge wave.

Loud roars accompanied the waves. The gold light flowed like a stream and extended onto the Mountain of Green Lotus. It looked even more glorious than water coming over Jinshan.

As explosions of Qi kept going on, heaven and earth were shaken, the rumblings forcing all beings to become silent. Huge waves of Spiritual Qi engulfed the surrounding land.

There were sounds of explosions everywhere, as balls of Spiritual Qi appeared everywhere. Dust and bits of rock swirled all over as forests were destroyed. It was as though a volcano and an earthquake had erupted at the same time, or a 50-kilogram firecracker was exploding over a great stretch of land.

Countless wild beasts died after bleeding from all seven facial orifices, and the birds which were in flight exploded into puffs of bloody mist. The sky was covered with light, and it was a strangely beautiful sight as if tens of thousands of fireworks had been set off.

Li Ye placed his palm on his chest. He lowered his head and spat out a mouthful of blood.

With a resounding cry, the Luke Sword flew back from the crackling skies and planted itself at Li Ye’s feet, vibrating uncontrollably.

Li Ye raised his head and gazed in front. The 10 Guardian Deities were flying in all directions in the sky, and their bodies exploded into puffs of blood before landing on the ground along with the dust and rocked swirling in the air.

Pools of blood clots could be observed on the monks’ limp bodies. Blood was flowing from all of their seven facial orifices, and their pupils were blank. They shook uncontrollably as they lay on the ground like wet clay. Obviously, all of their bones were broken, and there was no way they could have survived.

The 18 Guardian Deity Realm experts of the Tang Empire were dead.

Li Ye wiped off the streak of blood at the corner of his lips with his hand and fished out a pill bottle. He poured all of its contents into his palm and consumed the pills. In a flash, a tinge of redness appeared on his pale-looking face.

He had expended a great amount of Spiritual Qi throughout the previous two tough fights, and he needed to replenish his reserves urgently.

This was because the 36 arhats were still in front of him.

He raised the Luke Sword and strode forward fearlessly.

His objective was to reach Chencang, at the west of Fengxiang.