Chapter 386

Chapter 386: Divine Proof

“Speed up!”

Li Hui applied dozens of top-grade treasure talismans on himself and unleashed his Ideal Body. The bright yellow Ruyi behind him trembled, as a dazzling golden dragon rode the clouds and soared upwards. The Seize the Day Talisman summoned a fifty-fold increase in the flow of time, leaving only a trail of light smoke as he darted into the dense collection of bronze artifacts.

In the blink of an eye, Ghost Fox rushed in.

“This isn’t right; this is the River God’s residence!” the Ghost Foxes exclaimed in shock.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz…” All the bronze artifacts emitted green and purple light. They had been the sacrificial vessels into which countless beings had poured their prayers for peace over the ages, forming a strong will that gradually forged the River God’s divine position, connecting over sixty-three thousand shrines and bronze artifacts along the riverbank.

Suddenly, a powerful divine thought swept over: “Who dares to intrude upon my domain?”

Li Hui was well-prepared. He hurriedly donned the Inspector Official Robe and declared with official authority, “River God of Li River, I, the Inspector General, have already uncovered your misdeeds. You stir up winds and waves, harming countless people. Each year, you demand offerings of young boys and girls from the riverbank’s residents. I’m not saying you’ll be reported; it’s just that the time hasn’t come yet, but it will!”

Previously, he had been very cautious while exploring this place, not triggering the River God’s attention. Today, with a hundred Ghost Foxes chasing him, there was no longer time to hide his trail. He entered and triggered the prohibitions of the sacrificial vessels, seizing the opportunity to act with borrowed might.

“This is the Li River, my sacred ground! You dare to trespass; I will not let you go!” With those words, all the bronze artifacts unleashed a dazzling green light, lashing out at him, while purple light swept through the air. The Ghost Foxes struggled fiercely, attempting to retreat and regroup.

Want to retreat? It’s not that easy! The River God declared that the Li River was his sacred ground, and with divine thought remotely suppressing them, even if they fled from the ancient ship, they would still be under his control.

The leading Ghost Fox roared, “How dare you, River God, stop this? The dark moon has appeared. We come from the Ghost Fox Sect to serve the Yin Moon Dynasty. If you interfere with our hunt for this man, we will destroy your shrine during the next full dark moon!”

“Ghost Fox Sect?” The River God of Li River was taken aback and immediately pulled back his divine thought, refraining from casting further spells. Nowadays, the great calamity loomed dangerously, with ghost kings rampant everywhere. Many deities in the Great Xia were under threat, their demise could happen at any moment. Offending the Yin Moon Dynasty’s minions was akin to courting death!

“Let’s go, hunt down Li Hui!” commanded Cold Smile from Ghost Fox, knowing that despite the River God’s high cultivation, the tides of the world had changed. If he wanted to avoid falling, he had to obediently submit to the Yin Moon Dynasty.

The bronze artifacts dimmed down as Li Hui cursed inwardly, “So, you’re all just a bunch of softies, scared off by a few words. In that case, you should be destroyed!”

With the obstacle removed, the Ruyi was reoriented. Bai Ze gazed into the distance, and the sword shadows cleared a path.

“Bang! Bang! Bang…” Golden sword light exploded repeatedly as Li Hui’s speed increased further, heading straight for an inconspicuous pillar inside the ancient ship.

“I found it, the Divine Proof!”

It was incredibly fast; the whole process transpired in the blink of an eye, far surpassing the River God’s reaction speed. As the golden sword light exploded, an invisible thread swept over the pillar. Immediately, Li Hui retreated violently without looking back, escaping by the skin of his teeth.

He had the treasure; why not run?

“No, return my divine seal!” the River God of Li River bellowed angrily, shocked that in a mere instant, the intruder had taken something of immense importance to him.

“Why? It was hidden so skillfully, using various rare treasures to obscure its presence. How could he pinpoint it so accurately?”

The bronze artifacts vibrated together, green and purple light flaring up like a thousand mountains moving in a single moment, crashing down upon Li Hui.

At that moment, Ghost Foxes caught up and were also oppressed. Yet, they rejoiced—if they could trap Li Hui just long enough to gather their strength for a counterattack, it would be worth any pressure they endured.

“Ghostly Hand of Ten Thousand Skulls!”

Suddenly, a terrifying ghostly hand spread out like a flag, vast, deep, dark, and malevolent.

Li Hui remained unfazed. He pulled out a stack of scripture papers and declared loudly, “The sage says to respect the gods and ghosts, to distance oneself from them…”

No matter how powerful the River God and the Ghost Foxes were, the sage’s scripture made a rustling sound, and divine power could not approach. He seized the chance to create a brief gap.

As time passed in the blink of an eye, a treasure talisman appeared at his feet, dramatically activating teleportation, and his figure vanished.

“Damn it, where did he find the sage’s scripture?”

If Li Hui were there, he would surely say, “Well, it came from the ancient tomb of Baoyang Mountain! I have not slackened for a single day over the past six months, using Bai Ze to survey the surroundings and the Azure Sky Jade Symbol Sword to gauge dangers. I’ve long lost count of the opportunities I’ve snatched. Even now, with my high standards, I’ve found three or four treasures that can be of great use.”

The sage’s scripture not only contained the vital energy of heaven and earth, but also the profound morals of Confucianism, nearing the Dao, and thus held powerful efficacy.

The River God of Li River shouted, “He hasn’t escaped far; he’s still within the Li River’s domain. I’ll cooperate with you to hunt him down. Quickly follow the spirit lure! That’s merely a sage’s scripture, not the sage’s original relics. It can at most help him block once or twice. Hurry, it’ll be too late if we delay!”

“Let’s go!” The Ghost Foxes teamed up with the River God.

After Li Hui left the sunken ship at the river bottom, he swam upstream along the riverbank, now possessing six treasures. Among them, five treasures counterbalanced and complemented each other, dissipating the essence of the Divine Proof.

“It’s really here, Heavenly Essence, I’ve been looking for you for a long time!”

Among the five treasures was a swirling purple liquid, the Heavenly Essence needed to cultivate his Ideal Body to the Late Condense Essence stage. It had to be fused.

Although the other four treasures were precious, they weren’t needed. Li Hui casually stored them away and turned to inspect the Divine Proof. There lay a small piece of Soul-Calming Incense emitting blue and purple light.

“This is the Divine Proof?”

Guang Jin replied, “Indeed, this piece of Soul-Calming Incense is the Divine Proof. If I’m not mistaken, it was personally offered by a high-level demon cultivator who was born by the Li River, praying for peace. As this high-level cultivator rose to prominence, the incense used back then became a proof of fortune; the incense’s offering became a representation of the Divine Path.”

“A high-level demon cultivator? How powerful?”

“I don’t know, but definitely more powerful than an ancestor in the Profound Law stage.”

Over the past six months, Guang Jin had gained many benefits to compensate for the cost of helping Li Hui fuse the Dao Rhythm Residual Talisman; he had been awake for some time now.

“Could it be the Traveling Realm?” Li Hui thought, knowing that above the Profound Law stage was the Traveling Realm, and beyond that lay realms of legend, with records being exceedingly rare.

Compared to those legendary realms, he was still just a small practitioner at the Initial Condense Essence Stage, unable to contemplate such distant matters for now. He looked at the fragment of incense in his hand and asked, “Is this thing useful?”

“It’s useful, of course! You can use it to command the nearby shrines along the Li River, rapidly selecting the heroic spirit monks we need. After they are guided, they will be sent to the Primitive Shell Symbol with its many benefits. Hand me the Soul-Calming Incense for processing.” Guang Jin eagerly claimed responsibility, as handling the Divine Proof was well within his capabilities.

“Quickly!” Li Hui hurried along, continuing to swim upstream.

Up ahead was a mysterious location, even with today’s abilities; getting too close would result in intense high heat, warning the owner of exceptional danger. After half a year traversing mountains and rivers, this was the first time he discovered such a site. He had spent the past month preparing to explore it, but first needed to fuse the Heavenly Essence to enhance his Ideal Body.