Chapter 457: Kill Them All! One Million Merit! A Hundred-Thousand-Merit Treasure! A Divine Weapon Emerges!

Boom!

A deafening tremor erupted deep within the mountains.

Li Yanchu swung his arm, and the resulting blast was thunderous. Shattered stone burst outward, dust and gravel flying in all directions. His physical strength was monstrous, so much so that even punching empty air triggered explosive shockwaves. Soon, ripple after ripple of blasting airwaves stacked together, forming a terrifying mushroom-shaped burst of force.

The gray-robed elder who had tried to blend in was obliterated and reduced to dust with not a bone left behind. Such a terrifying physical body!

Meanwhile, the young swordsman’s face turned cold and bloodless. He had always taken pride in being a sword cultivator; with his one sword in hand, he cut down demons across the world. His Dao emphasized killing to prove the Dao, every strike ruthless and decisive. But now his sword heart trembled.

Can such an overwhelming physical body even be cut down with a sword...!?

Li Yanchu didn’t give him time to ponder before he unleashed a single palm strike that shattered the youth who practiced murderous sword arts. His blood-qi surged like a rising sun, and it was terrifying to behold!

The surrounding cultivators felt a danger unlike anything before; every hair stood on end, and their backs stiffened and went numb. They couldn’t even withstand Li Yanchu’s gaze.

Heaven and earth were awash in crimson as his oppressive aura engulfed them. Everywhere, searing blood-light burned like flames. It was as if the very air had been boiled by this oceanic tide of blood-qi! Such boundless blood and qi, and such furnace-like blood-fire seemed capable of burning the heavens themselves.

Within Li Yanchu’s spirit platform, the radiance of merit flickered, along with strands of purple-gold qi and the protective scripture of The Fire Official’s Sacred Edict. These kept him from losing his mind, allowing him to control this violent, overwhelming power.

Boom!

Boom!

Explosions echoed continuously through the forest. Soon after, every practitioner of demonic arts, every cannibalistic fiend, and every sinister spirit were all slaughtered!

Li Yanchu used his Qi Sight, targeting those enveloped in resentment and foul karma. But outsiders didn’t know this, and all they saw was a terrifying young Daoist with blazing blood-qi and searing yang-fire, killing cultivators one after another with his domineering, cold, and utterly merciless strikes.

When everything finally fell silent, only the righteous onlookers and the prodigies of prestigious cultivation clans remained alive. All the monsters and demons, ghosts and fiends, wicked cultists and heretical practitioners were completely wiped out.

At this point, Li Yanchu’s accumulated merit points finally surpassed the million mark! These weren’t attackers trying to seize an opportunity, they were walking experience bundles delivered right to his door!

Li Yanchu had yet to condense his Yang Spirit, but with the help of the Blood-Qi Pill, combined with his deep prior foundation, his physical body had broken through and reached a level comparable to a third-realm powerhouse.

With a million merit points to his name, dense golden merit-light enveloped the depths of his primordial spirit, surging and overflowing.

***

At this time, Li Yanchu returned to Qingyun Temple in Wei City with Cuihua. The benefits of this breakthrough were simply immense; his physical strength was now terrifying beyond measure, but by the time he reached Qingyun Temple, he had completely reined it in, outwardly looking no different from an ordinary person.

Yet what had happened today in the mountains outside Wei City sent shockwaves through the cultivation world. One demonic cultivator after another, one man-eating fiend after another, had been cut down. They were either notorious heretics or low-key, frightening monsters and spirits. And they all shared one trait: they could fight well. Even experts of the Buddhist and Daoist sects were reluctant to deal with them casually.

But today, they had all died in the mountains outside Wei City, slaughtered by a young Daoist accompanied by a giant cat without the slightest ability to fight back. News that a Yang-Spirit-level powerhouse had appeared in Wei City spread like wildfire, and within half a day, it was known far and wide.

Meanwhile, Li Yanchu enjoyed perfect peace inside the temple, undisturbed. This shabby Qingyun Temple really did seem to be hidden from heavenly insight by some immense power, and it was a rare sanctuary of clarity and quiet.

He checked his merit points, which now stood at 1,035,600!

Once upon a time, thirty thousand merit points had made Li Yanchu jubilant, feeling as if he’d reached life’s pinnacle. He never imagined that now it was just pocket change(T/N: Man... I wish I also had a million in my bank account lol.).

Sigh, I’m starting to understand the troubles of the wealthy.

Li Yanchu muttered inwardly.

He thanked Cuihua for her courage today, and to be honest, she’d exceeded his expectations. He took out the Bodhi Pill from Jinguang Temple and handed it to her.

This type of spiritual pill was especially effective for strengthening the body. The demon race’s combat methods were built on physical might, so this suited her perfectly.

“This is a wonderful pill I acquired in the Blissful Land. You went all out today, so I’m giving it all to you.”

“At least you know how to be thankful,” Cuihua said, feeling a bit pleased. The orange cat walked gracefully back to her room to consume the Bodhi Pill.

Li Yanchu, meanwhile, sat cross-legged in meditation within the temple. With so much merit points accumulated, he planned to continue enhancing the magical artifacts in his possession. First was the Jiaoslayer.

He chanted the great Dao sound within his mind, “Enhance!”

A divine radiance rippled over the blade, flowing ceaselessly along its surface, dazzling to behold.

This time, the enhancement process lasted longer than any before. When it finally ended, the blade released a crisp, ringing cry that echoed through heaven and earth.

Boom!

A streak of blade-light tore through the roof and shot into the sky, circling above Qingyun Temple. Heaven and earth shifted in color as winds surged and storm clouds rolled. Within the sea of clouds, not only lightning crackled, fire also flared forth.

“Crap! The roof’s gone!” Li Yanchu shouted.

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

He’d lived in this temple for so long without a single tile falling off, yet the Jiaoslayer had pierced straight through it the moment it was enhanced!

“Is this... a peerless divine weapon emerging!? What a domineering edge!”

Cultivators hiding in Wei City looked up at the sky in shock. Why did this obscure little city have such a terrifying divine weapon!? The phenomenon covered the entire sky above Wei City, so no one noticed that the initial burst of divine light had originated from Qingyun Temple.

The people of Wei City, meanwhile, simply stared upward in confusion.

“Looks like it’s going to rain? What’s with the thunder out of nowhere!?”

Ordinary folk didn’t know anything about divine weapons or heavenly omens. They only felt that the weather in Wei City had been unpredictable lately and that the thunder rumbled at random. Yet, the thunder didn’t even bring any rain. Plus, occasionally there were loud booms that shook the ears, and sometimes they even sounded like explosions.

At first they were terrified, but gradually... they got used to it. The weird weather was nothing too frightening. This was the difference perspective made: experts saw the truth, while outsiders were just entertained by the spectacle

Come!

Li Yanchu moved his thoughts, silently calling out.

With that, the Jiaoslayer instantly transformed into divine light, flying from the horizon straight into his hand. The terrifying thunderclouds vanished; the rumbling booms faded away.

Inside Taiping Inn, the shopboy said to a chubby monk, “Don’t worry, honored guest, this is how the weather always is lately. You’ll get used to it. It’s practically a Wei City specialty now.”

The fat monk’s mouth twitched violently, the boy’s words leaving him speechless.

Specialty my ass, this is clearly a peerless divine weapon appearing!

he yelled inwardly.