Chapter 446: The Resurgence of Temple Spirits

Fierce winds roared, bending countless trees scattered throughout the mountains and forests.

Two massive Deep Pits emerged upon the land.

Cold rain splattered down, falling gently from the thick, leaden clouds.

Panting relentlessly, Jin Taisui raced back; he stood before the two pits, his pupils dilated and bloodshot as he fixed his gaze on the two figures within.

The hideous figure of Zhou Peng dragged and clutched one of Yun’e’s fingers.

Yet his grotesque face was filled with a serene satisfaction—as if by seizing Yun’e’s finger, he had grasped his entire world, and he was utterly delighted.

Yun’e emanated a cool, moonlit aura; her porcelain-like skin was riddled with fine cracks, as if it might shatter at any moment and scatter into fragments.

The freezing rain continued to pour down.

Jin Taisui knelt on the ground, pain shadowing his eyes. After years of cultivation on Witch God Mountain and clawing his way out of blood-soaked mountains of corpses,

Jin Taisui should have become numb to death.

For on Witch God Mountain, countless prodigies perished with every trial.

Yet witnessing the deaths of Zhou Peng and Yun’e pierced his heart with bone-deep agony—these were his few true friends.

Jin Taisui recalled many moments from their adventures: frolicking on Guangling Path, racing along the Main Road, and embarking on daring escapades together…

Moments of sheer joy, hearty laughter, sharing the same wind and rain, and flaunting their heroic spirit.

Kneeling there, Jin Taisui could only feel his diminished strength and helplessness as tears streamed down his face, distorting his features in grief.

The unyielding man who rarely shed tears now wept bitterly.

Suddenly,

the rain seemed to warp and tear apart, ripped asunder by a terrifying force.

Two figures appeared by his side; Jin Taisui sniffed and lifted his head. Through the rain distorting his face, he recognized Li Che and XiXi.

Seeing XiXi, his worry melted away instantly.

XiXi, hand in hand with Li Che, wore an expression tinged with wistfulness as she glanced at the two entwined figures in the pit, feeling her heart grow heavy with boundless sorrow, as if it were about to be overwhelmed.

A sorrow that threatened to drown her entirely.

“Father…”

“XiXi… Yun’e is gone—”

XiXi’s voice turned deep with despair as tears larger than peas rolled down her cheeks.

So indistinguishable were her tears from the rain.

Li Che’s dark robe fluttered wildly as his jet-black hair whipped in the storm. Ruffling XiXi’s hair gently, his eyes lingered on the two lifeless figures, their temple spirit power spent to the point of death.

“No, they’re just sleeping,”

Li Che softly rubbed XiXi’s head and smiled.

XiXi blinked and then looked up at Li Che. She might be young, but she wasn’t foolish.

The life force of Zhou Peng and Yun’e had vanished…

Yet XiXi never retorted. Perhaps Father was trying to comfort her?

“It’s alright. I’ll wake them up,” Li Che said with a smile.

XiXi was momentarily dumbfounded, though hope flickered in her eyes.

Resurrection—

Could it truly be done?

XiXi thought of the mysterious Underworld; with so many formidable masters there, perhaps it could be achieved.

Jin Taisui stood up, wiping away his tears. He said little, but listening to Li Che and XiXi’s conversation left him almost numb.

Li Che patted XiXi’s head, then released her hand and stepped over to the side of Zhou Peng and Yun’e.

Zhou Peng, with his hideous, pig-like face and curved tusks pointed skyward, exuded a fierce, menacing aura.

Yun’e, in stark contrast, was strikingly beautiful. Both had shed their childish forms to embody the full might of their deep-seated temple spirit.

“Reincarnated Temple Spirits,”

Li Che’s eyes flickered as he exhaled slowly.

In the next moment, their bodies stirred.

Engulfing the two, they vanished into the pit.

They reappeared later, this time in Mo City.

In the torrential Mo City rain that fell from the Heavenly Dome, there flowed a mysterious power capable of mending the city’s damage—not that it rained every time in Mo City, but Li Che’s constant meddling with the city often resulted in wear and tear.

Relentlessly dragging strong opponents into combat, Mo City inevitably suffered damage.

The inky rain seemed to drain the city’s colors away, leaving only a stark, deathly black and white shroud.

Within Mo City, Li Che was the only living soul—everyone else was dead.

The bodies of Yun’e and Zhou Peng lay on Mo City’s streets.

As reincarnated temple spirits, could their Spiritual Confinement succeed?

Li Che was uncertain, but trying was the only option. Though they were reincarnated temple spirits, he had watched them grow like children.

After arriving in Jingguang City and growing up alongside XiXi, Li Che felt genuine affection for them.

As winds howled across the heavens, an endless torrent of energy intermingled.

“Spirits, return to me—”

Spiritual Confinement!

A deep, resonant voice, reminiscent of ancient tribal chants during a ritual, opened the portal between the realm of the dead and the living, offering a bridge for souls to cross over to rebirth.

The rushing sound of water surged and mingled…

After the Spiritual Confinement, much to Li Che’s surprise, it manifested a bit differently this time.

BOOM!!!

Wild winds exploded forth, carrying a brutal aura as energy surged out.

Li Che suddenly looked up to see space shatter, revealing within the broken void a pitch-black city emerging from the depths.

The ancient city loomed, towering amid chaotic spatial currents as if timeless.

Its surface was shrouded in a majestic divine force, resembling the luminous reflection of a mirage, causing Li Che’s gaze to harden.

He focused on the city gate and saw four characters inscribed.

【Nine Nether City】

Nine Nether City!

Li Che’s heart trembled, as if he saw an immense black lotus bloom atop the city—a burning, cursed flame intertwining in chaos, capable of razing mountains and seas!

An abomination to Heaven and Earth!

Faintly, along the city wall, Li Che watched cool moonlight cascade as if ready to soar to the moon.

There stood a peerless goddess, reminiscent of an ancient deity in the lunar palaces of the Cold Palace.

Li Che’s brows furrowed slightly.

Beside her, a burly figure clad in Golden Armor, with a fearsome pig-like head wielding a nine-toothed rake, stood guard.

The two loomed atop the city tower.

Their complex gazes met his.

It was as if time and space had fractured, and their eyes collided head-on with Li Che’s.

With a hum, the city vanished from sight.

Inside Mo City, even the storm seemed to suddenly calm.

Li Che stood in Mo City, his brows tightly knit.

Nine Nether City…

Deep within the nether?

Something wasn’t right. That city seemed intimately tied to the Prison Lotus. Wasn’t the blooming black lotus none other than the Prison Lotus itself?

So, were the reincarnated temple spirits of Yun’e and Zhou Peng from Nine Nether City?

Li Che’s heart trembled slightly.

Both temple spirits hailed from the Prison Lotus faction?

And their appearance beside XiXi—was it mere coincidence?

XiXi’s close bond with the Prison Lotus was undeniable, whether it was the curse of the Prison Lotus or the echoes of a past life in her soul—

Not to mention the mysterious monk known as Jin Chan who emerged after Ji Mo Li’s assassination.

Jin Chan…

Qi Tian, Jin Chan… Li Che’s eyes shimmered.

A mournful wail echoed, as streams of light converged before him.

The Spiritual Confinement of Yun’e and Zhou Peng stepped forth from the nether.

Their cultivation was low, so their Spiritual Confinement was effortless, costing Li Che nearly nothing.

Yet Li Che sensed that the temple spirit within them had vanished.

Perhaps their temple spirit was trapped in Nine Nether City, unable to return with the success of the confinement.

Li Che wished to summon the divine, but though they appeared close, the distance rendered his Summoning ineffective.

He sighed softly.

Given the circumstances, it was acceptable.

Both Yun’e and Zhou Peng opened their eyes. Zhou Peng’s chubby, pig-headed appearance reverted, transforming back into the form of the little Chubby Kid.

“Li Shu—My Lord—”

Yun’e slowly opened her eyes, her long lashes fluttering as she resumed her youthful appearance. Her gaze fixed on Li Che with a trace of wonder.

Beside her, Zhou Peng rubbed his head, bewildered by his newfound lightness, as if the burden of the temple spirit had lifted completely.

In their minds, a message began to flow, clarifying their current state.

Spiritual Confinement, huh?

Yun’e and Zhou Peng exchanged relieved glances.

Though they now existed in another form, surviving was a blessing, especially free from the temple spirit’s oppressive power. They felt lighter, both in body and spirit.

There was even a sense of finally being themselves again.

“Don’t call me Master. Just call me Li Shu,” Li Che said with a gentle laugh.

“XiXi is waiting outside. Go now—though you have changed your state of life, you can still cultivate and grow stronger. In fact, it might even be easier now.”

“But the temple spirit inside you—I cannot summon it back. It has been claimed by Nine Nether City,” Li Che explained.

Yun’e nodded, “Li Shu, it’s alright. We already know.”

“Nine Nether City is located at Prison Lotus Lake…”

“It belongs to the Prison Lotus faction…”

“Both my temple spirit and Zhou Peng’s originate from that faction. Our resurrection carries the will of the Prison Lotus, aimed at breaking its current hold.”

Yun’e’s voice softened as the divine patterns on her brow shimmered.

“Once we return to Prison Lotus City, our temple spirit can merge with our flesh, allowing a tremendous breakthrough.”

“In the mortal world—and even within the Bizarre Temple—the temple spirit is heavily suppressed. Coupled with our limited cultivation, we simply cannot unleash its full power…

“Of course, if we do break through and bear the temple spirit, even if imperfectly, it will greatly aid you, Li Shu.”

Yun’e’s eyes sparkled with a mix of admiration and expectation.

Her gaze shone brightly upon Li Che, as if a galaxy were swirling within.

Nearby, Zhou Peng looked at Yun’e, rubbing his head and feeling an unexpected pang of loss.

After all, that look of reverence wasn’t meant for him.

Perhaps the hand they had held in that pit was nothing more than a fleeting illusion.

Li Che’s brows furrowed briefly before he relaxed, no longer dwelling on temple spirit matters.

The appearance of the Bizarre Temple in the mortal world, and its connection with the Bizarre Temple, had dramatically altered the state of the realm.

The emergence of the Bizarre Temple and the rampant divine energy had elevated many cultivators, ushering in a new era of growth.

But why do gods fall to become temple spirits?

Too many mysteries swirled like thick fog, obscuring the truth.

Not dwelling on these thoughts, Li Che turned his attention to the two youngsters.

Waving them over, he said,

“Come on.”

The rain continued to pour relentlessly as XiXi and Jin Taisui stood at the edge of the pit, their moods somber.

In a group of friends who had once trained together, losing two was a heavy blow. Jin Taisui managed, but XiXi struggled to breathe under her grief.

It was her first time facing such a painful farewell and loss.

Yet Father promised to bring Yun’e and Zhou Peng back—could it really be done?

Glancing at the empty surroundings, Li Che saw blood-red clouds roiling above as if cold, bloody rain were falling.

This was the ominous sign of a divine calamity at hand.

XiXi sat beneath a large tree whose mottled leaves shielded her from much of the rain, her heart heavy with despair.

Jin Taisui stood silently by her side, offering quiet companionship.

Then suddenly,

XiXi looked up sharply as her primordial spirit sensed a change in the air.

She glanced and saw Father, holding Yun’e and Zhou Peng, appearing out of nowhere, bathed in the bloody rain, slowly approaching.

XiXi watched as Yun’e mischievously winked at her, her fair, beautiful face radiating a gentle warmth and joy.

Perhaps the joy of reunion had rekindled lively spirits in Yun’e.

On the other hand, Zhou Peng mimicked XiXi, puffing out his little belly and grinning broadly.

Unable to contain her excitement any longer, XiXi leapt to her feet.

Her eyes shone so brightly that her joy nearly overflowed.

She dashed into the rain, sprinting as fast as she could.

Li Che didn’t abandon the four youngsters. Instead, he entered Mo City to sort through the spoils of the battle while staying with the happy group.

The group took refuge in a spot within Luoyun City—a place where half the city lay in ruins—in anticipation of Lü Taibai and the others’ arrival.

After about half an hour,

a streak of sword light crossed the night sky, cleaving through the bloody rain.

Upon the sword, Lü Taibai appeared to be in deep repair, his eyes reflecting a hint of astonishment.

Lü Qiankun, his hair fluttering in the wind, spoke with age-old profundity, “A divine calamity has consumed a soul.”

“This is the omen of a god’s destruction,”

Fang Han Shu, standing astride a flying sword with his scholarly robe billowing and his majestic beard flowing, declared, “Corpse God Sect—and Black Armor Guards—”

His eyes immediately caught sight of a corpse amid the ruins of Luoyun City.

“There’s still a trace of temple spirit in the air…”

“We’ve come too late,” Fang Han Shu sighed,

hoping no further sorrowful events would unfold.

“Sect Leader, over here,”

Li Che, enveloped by the expansive Cosmic Chessboard, had long sensed the presence of Lü Taibai, Lü Qiankun, and the others. He quickly called them together.

Lü Taibai had just broken through to Divine Calamity; his Heaven and Earth Soul had transformed into the more refined Heaven and Earth Dao Soul, sharpening his perception to near perfection.

His Taibai Sword transformed into a silver light that settled into his sleeve.

The three quickly descended upon Luoyun City and soon locked onto Li Che’s position, rushing to his aid.

“Master!”

XiXi, feasting in a tavern, lit up with joy upon seeing Lü Taibai.

Lü Taibai’s eyes softened noticeably at the sight of the unharmed XiXi, easing his long-held worries.

Reunions were always a delight.

Even Fang Han Shu’s presence, as the ruler of the Demon Pit, no longer instilled fear in XiXi; it only added to her joy.

“Ji Mo Li is dead,”

Fang Han Shu informed Li Che, revealing his suspicion.

Judging by the corpses left behind by the Corpse God Sect and the Black Armor Guards, Fang Han Shu surmised that the slain god who had reached Divine Calamity was Ji Mo Li.

Lü Taibai’s breakthrough to Divine Calamity meant that Ji Mo Li—if he resorted to desperate measures—could have attained it fairly easily.

Moreover, with the divine tide rising and the surge of heavenly energy, reaching Divine Calamity was simpler than ever.

Li Che wasn’t surprised by Fang Han Shu’s deduction; after all, he knew the true nature of Fang Han Shu.

“Indeed, Ji Mo Li had broken through to Divine Calamity. He aimed to massacre this city, accumulate blood souls for the journey to Qitian City, and even planned to kill XiXi. I rushed here, enlisted the Underworld champions, and eliminated Ji Mo Li,” Li Che stated calmly.

Lü Taibai and Fang Han Shu exchanged no expressions of surprise.

After all, the mysteries and might of the Underworld had long surpassed those of the past, and now a Underworld Ghost Emperor had emerged. With Ji Mo Li just reaching Divine Calamity—

there was no surprise in the outcome.

Still, Lü Taibai patted XiXi’s head, exhaling deeply.

“The massacre of the city—Ji Mo Li’s actions were utterly monstrous!”

“King Ping Luan? Ridiculous,”

With Lü Taibai and the others shielding him, Li Che could finally step into Mo City to consolidate his gains.

For when gathering his spoils, Li Che’s thoughts would be deep, and he worried that an accident might unfold outside—like the mysterious monk behind Ji Mo Li, the devious monk Jin Chan from the Western Lands of Buddhism who incited Ji Mo Li’s massacre by gathering blood souls.

Only then could he relax and review his overall gains.

In Mo City, the wind and rain battered unstoppably.

Li Che’s body buzzed with energy as his Qi evaporated, forming a vast, empty stormy expanse.

He approached the dismembered corpse of Ji Mo Li, scarred by the countless strikes of the Thousand Mountain Lone Wanderer Divine Blade.

Reflecting on the devastation unleashed after Ji Mo Li’s death—the endless wail of mourning that shook Heaven and Earth, the countless lives taken and blood souls sacrificed to create such an onslaught—

Ji Mo Li truly deserved his fate!

Such a man did not merit a second chance at immortality.

Li Che had no intention of allowing Ji Mo Li to be resurrected through Spiritual Confinement.

However—

Why let a good Spiritual Confinement go to waste, even if it was a bad one?

Even a flawed Spiritual Confinement could serve its purpose.

With his five fingers outstretched, he targeted Ji Mo Li’s long-cold corpse, and moments later, Ji Mo Li’s Spiritual Confinement emerged from Nine Nether City.

Bewildered, Ji Mo Li slowly opened his eyes, a trace of defiant anger and regret lingering from his violent end at Li Che’s hand.

Then, he suddenly grew calm; the endless stream of thoughts in his mind plunged him into silence.

“You—…”

Ji Mo Li stared at Li Che, parting his lips.

But Li Che merely looked down upon him, impassively.

Subjugation?

Or defiance?

After a moment of hesitation, Ji Mo Li gritted his teeth and chose to submit.

“Tear open the Qiankun Space and lay it bare before me,”

Li Che said flatly.

Obediently, Ji Mo Li offered no resistance.

Once Qiankun Space was torn open, Li Che scanned the area; his breath caught, and his eyes flashed with the gleam of ill-gotten treasures.

Without hesitance, he claimed every valuable item within that space.

There were ten lower-tier Three Pure Divine Crystals, followed by four Underworld Dao Essence Divine Crystals—five of them in total!

Could Ji Mo Li’s assets truly be so bountiful?

Alas, they were only Underworld Dao Essence Divine Crystals, not the higher-tier Three Pure ones.

According to legend, only Dao Essence Divine Crystals of Three Pure and higher grade constitute true divine essence; Underworld ones fall short.

“That’s enough. Thank you.”

“You may continue your journey.”

Li Che smiled contentedly.

Ji Mo Li:

…….

Then, he felt an undeniable force crash upon him.

It was as if his entire armor was about to explode, hurled amidst countless Spiritual Confinements.

In preparation for the upcoming challenge in Qitian City, it was expected that many formidable opponents would appear.

So Li Che fed Ji Mo Li’s Spiritual Confinement to Gu Yinxuan.

“Old Yin, how far are you from the One Calamity, Three Tribulations stage?”

After Gu Yinxuan devoured his meal without hesitation, Li Che inquired,

“My Lord, we’ll likely need another divine calamity comparable to Ji Mo Li’s to complete the stage.”

Gu Yinxuan, satisfied and empowered by his own growth, beamed with vigor.

Li Che nodded, saying no more, letting Gu Yinxuan resume his study of poisons.

With the Lord’s reward received, Gu Yinxuan was brimming with determination—he felt this time he could die a hundred times over in his research!

After dismissing Gu Yinxuan, Li Che sat cross-legged and began examining the three divine weapons confiscated from Ji Mo Li.

The Undying Prison Lotus Hun Tian Ling was given to XiXi, while three heavenly weapons embodying the will of the temple spirit remained in his hands:

The Qingyun Divine Sword, the Hun Yuan Umbrella Spear, and the Zijin Weasel Fur—relics of the three Heavenly King Temple Spirits—along with the long-obtained Bi Jade Lute.

All four Heavenly King weapons were now assembled under Li Che’s command.

With the Bi Jade Lute taken out, the four divine weapons were completely restored.

BOOM!!!

The overwhelming divine might of the temple spirit swelled like an inflated balloon, expanding in an instant.

Four ethereal temple spirit shadows—white, blue, green, and red—loomed around him, towering a hundred feet high!

He could feel the furious glares of the four Heavenly Kings!

“The will of the Four Heavenly King Temple Spirits…”

Li Che chuckled softly.

This was the root of Ji Mo Li’s rise.

In fact, if Ji Mo Li had managed to combine the power of the Four Heavenly King Temple Spirits with the fusion of the Six Corpse Gods, he might have surged to the One Calamity, Three Tribulations level.

Facing an opponent at that stage would have truly been a challenge.

“The will of the Four Heavenly King Temple Spirits…”

Li Che grinned as he extended his five fingers—

Summon the Divine!

With a display of miraculous power, the wills of the four temple spirits trembled violently, their defiant roars slowly compressed by Li Che’s summoning into four radiant spheres infused with temple spirit energy.

Tiptoeing lightly, Li Che vanished in an instant.

He reappeared atop a gigantic, fleshy mass formed by Huang Jianjiu’s Spiritual Confinement refinement of the Dao Pillar.

With a flick of his finger, one Heavenly King temple spirit sphere blasted into Huang Jianjiu’s mass.

As though awakening a dormant will, Huang Jianjiu’s mass gaped open like a bloodied maw, swallowing the sphere whole.

“Can you refine it?”

Li Che’s mind stirred as he asked Huang Jianjiu’s Spiritual Confinement.

“My Lord—more, please—”

Indeed it worked.

The spheres formed from the integration of Dao Essence Divine Crystals and temple spirit will were essentially the same type.

In fact, these spheres, forged from temple spirit will, might even be of a higher grade than Dao Essence Divine Crystals.

Li Che did not hesitate; he fed the remaining three Heavenly King temple spirit spheres to Huang Jianjiu’s mass without reservation.

Huang Jianjiu’s mass continued expanding and pulsating, with ripples spreading outward.

Li Che wondered curiously what height Huang Jianjiu would reach if this feeding continued.

Could he be cultivating an utterly monstrous being?!

Regardless, Li Che felt light-hearted and eager, filled with anticipation.

Yet he knew refining the four Heavenly King temple spirit spheres in Huang Jianjiu’s mass would take time.

Soon, his form blurred and vanished, only to reappear atop the highest rectangular building of Mo City’s Edou district.

Sitting cross-legged, Li Che’s mind stirred.

This battle with Ji Mo Li, where he exhausted all his trump cards, had yielded great rewards.

Firstly, his martial prowess had advanced.

The fusion of the Dao Calamity power, the Primordial Void Slash, and the Transcendent True Martial Way with the Thousand Mountain Lone Wanderer Divine Blade had begun showing signs of evolving into Celestial Seed Martial Art!

Should he truly transform into a Celestial Seed, it would be tremendous news for Li Che.

It meant that two of his Eight Mysterious Gates Divine Seeds could turn into Celestial Seeds.

Yet this martial epiphany was not his greatest achievement this time.

What mattered most was the severing of his mental shackles—Ji Mo Li had long been a dark shadow over his heart. Now, with that burden lifted, he felt as though he had finally leapt into boundless freedom!

It was the breaking of constraints—a return to unbridled liberty!

Li Che experienced a profound metamorphosis, a liberation of the soul.

He understood that though Ji Mo Li was merely a stepping stone on his path, he would continue to grow stronger, climbing higher even as fiercer foes emerged and pressures mounted.

Yet it was the childhood fears—the very things that once blinded him—that now faded away.

Now, he felt as though he had torn through the mist to see the endless blue sky.

Li Che, seated atop the Dominator Tower in Mo City—a structure he named to honor his command over the city—closed his eyes and let his soul soar.

Deep within the Mud Pellet’s inner sanctum,

the Seven Aperture Luminous Heart seemed to sense his spiritual transcendence, leaping and pulsating with surging divine will like tidal waves.

In that moment, the entire world fell silent.

The sounds of rain, wind, flowing water, rattling pebbles, and bursting droplets all faded into nothingness.

“Hoo—”

“Ah—”

Li Che breathed deeply, his every exhale and inhale echoing in the stillness.

The pulsation of the Seven Aperture Luminous Heart grew louder, resounding like ancient drums at dawn!

Simultaneously, the [Unsullied Heart] Dao Fruit in his chest beat in tandem, each strike resounding mightily.

It was as if an ancient temple atop a snow-capped mountain was forcefully tolling a colossal bell, its sound waves reverberating throughout the vast expanse of the world.

In that profound moment, Li Che’s eyes snapped open.

A cascade of light interwove between his eyes.

Heaven and Earth were clear; from the depths of despair emerged new hope!

Before him, countless streams of light converged into a singular message:

【Dao Fruit: Unsullied Heart (lv7 0%)】

Embrace the silence of Heaven and Earth; let the soul be eternal!

Sever your inner demons; keep your heart unsullied!

Unsullied Heart!

Five Transcendences!