After the Skyfall

Chapter 860 The Wind Brings
A silver beam of divine light streaked across the sky above Shenmu City, striking the lush and leafy divine tree and forcefully severing a thick branch from it.

At the same time, a highly skilled cultivator immediately flew over, caught the falling branch, and quickly carried it away from the area.

On this day, Li Yi once again transformed into a hundred-foot giant, controlling lightning and wielding divine power, and began to prune the branches of the divine tree extensively. For such a large divine tree, just a portion of the branches was enough to satisfy his needs.

Li Yi didn't want to do something short-sighted like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, so he only took the unimportant parts of the divine tree and didn't touch the main trunk. As long as he didn't damage its foundation, the divine tree could still grow new branches after several decades or hundreds of years.

Many people in Shenmu City remained silent upon witnessing this scene.

The destruction of the Shenmu lineage and the felling of the Shenmu by the God of Chishan were inevitable outcomes; it was just unexpected that this day would come so soon.

The wise man Mu Sang Gong in the city has been sitting on an ancient tree for the past few days, watching the changes in Shenmu City. When he saw the sacred tree being felled, he felt no anger, but rather a sense of relief.

At least, the god of Chishan did not intend to completely cut down the sacred tree, but only to prune its branches. As a result, the sacred tree should be safe for a considerable period of time and will not be destroyed.

This is already the greatest fortune.

As the branches of the sacred tree were continuously felled, the scorching and dazzling golden light dimmed considerably, and the vast cosmic energy that enveloped the Sacred Tree City also began to weaken.

Li Yi noticed this situation, but he did not stop because he urgently needed the divine wood as a resource.

All the felled sacred trees were handed over to the Celestial Craftsman. In the days that followed, he had to use the crimson gold and sacred wood to refine a second, or even a third, sacred wood crimson gold furnace. The remaining materials had to be crafted into Dao artifacts to increase everyone's strength.

Li Yi even asked him to use divine wood mixed with red gold to build a celestial warship.

However, all of this will take time.

Another beam of silver divine light struck, and a huge branch of the divine tree fell to the ground. It was then quickly taken away by the cultivation expert. Seeing this, Li Yi felt that it was enough, so he stopped chopping and ceased his work.

"Let's take this much divine wood for now. We'll talk about it later if we need more. Those who know how to refine artifacts should help the Heavenly Craftsman refine the Crimson Gold Artifacts. There shouldn't be any battles happening recently, so everyone should focus on cultivation and recover to their peak as soon as possible."

After giving the order, Li Yi said no more and immediately shrunk his size and returned to the city lord's mansion in Shenmu City.

At this time, Miao Huizi and Master Ziyu had also searched the entire city lord's mansion inside and out, and obtained the Divine Wood lineage, a large amount of red gold, and various treasures from the wilderness.

The Shenmu lineage didn't have time to take these treasures with them because they had accumulated far too much. Since there were no storage rings in this world, it was impossible to carry a large number of items with one's person. Carrying them by hand or transporting them by cart was too slow. In addition, Li Yi had Xiang Xiangzi and Xuan Yuezi move into Shenmu City in time, which prevented the Shenmu lineage from taking away this accumulation of countless years.

So now they've all become Li Yi's spoils of war.

"Taiyi, this world is truly rich in resources. The accumulation of the Divine Tree lineage is indeed remarkable. The amount of Crimson Gold alone is no less than that of Crimson Gold Mountain, and there are also the inner cores of various powerful beasts, which are comparable to rare treasures."

Miao Huizi exclaimed in surprise and handed a storage artifact to Li Yi.

After taking it, Li Yi glanced at it and was immediately shocked by what was inside. He took out a fist-sized pearl, which was crystal clear, shimmering with divine light, and radiating an astonishing cosmic energy.

Moreover, because of the nourishment of the divine tree's energy, this extraordinary beast's inner core, which is comparable to a rare treasure, has not lost its spiritual energy even after being placed for many years, and remains the same as when it was first taken out.

In other worlds, such an inner core would surely lose all its energy and become worthless after being left for decades.

"This is truly a place blessed by heaven and earth. It's incredible that the inner core of such a beast of this level can be preserved so well." Li Yi exclaimed. After arriving at the city lord's mansion in Shenmu City, he was reluctant to leave.

The golden energy flowed through his body, and with his godlike physique cultivating on its own, he could become stronger without doing anything. This feeling was simply too wonderful.

"Yes, this sacred tree is truly wondrous. Cultivating here is like making rapid progress in a day. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth condenses into golden light that flows over one's body. Such a blessed place, yet the lineage of the sacred tree has enjoyed it for so many years without producing a single local deity."

Master Ziyu shook his head, feeling disappointed with this group of primitive people.

"Therefore, the Shenmu lineage was arrogant and decadent. Only that Shenmu Lord saw this and left the comfortable Shenmu City to go to other places to challenge powerful enemies, temper himself, and try to take that step. Unfortunately, he failed."

Li Yi said calmly, then put the beast's inner core into his storage artifact and handed it to Miao Huizi.

"Fairy Maiden, please process the contents of this room. Use the items that are for alchemy to refine pills, and those that are for weapon crafting to refine weapons. Send the precious pearls with their unique functions to the Celestial Craftsman to be used as an energy source for the Immortal Warship."

He was not tempted by these treasures, but instead planned to make good use of them and transform them into strength and resources.

"Okay." Miao Huizi nodded slightly, agreeing to the matter.

"By the way, Northern Wilderness City also needs people to manage it. True Person Ziyu, could you find a way to arrange for some cultivation experts to go there? Although it can't compare to Divine Wood City, it's still a good place to acquire resources," Li Yi then added. True Person Ziyu immediately replied, "Taiyi, how about I and a few fellow Daoists join us in managing Northern Wilderness City?"

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, "If True Person Ziyu has this idea, you can give it a try. However, it is best for cultivators not to do everything themselves. Sometimes you have to respect the traditions of this world. Merchants must be accepted, slave owners must exist, and divine blood warriors must be recruited. This world is too deep and not suitable for making too much trouble. Everything should be focused on improving yourself and acquiring resources for cultivation."

"I will remember what Taiyi said." Master Ziyu understood Li Yi's meaning.

“Then go with peace of mind. If a powerful enemy at the Mountain Lord level attacks, you can come to Shenmu City for help,” Li Yi said.

Master Ziyu nodded, then took his leave.

Li Yi watched him leave, and then saw High Priest Dou Kun striding briskly towards the City Lord's Mansion, leaning on a cane made from a branch of a sacred tree.

"Lord, you have stayed in Shenmu City for too long. The chieftains and priests of all the tribes within a thousand miles have brought their strongest warriors and most beautiful concubines to Chishan City to pay homage to you, hoping that you will accept their loyalty."

Although High Priest Dou Kun had traveled five hundred li, he showed no signs of fatigue and remained energetic.

This is the benefit of cultivation. The current High Priest Dou Kun has already reached the Tribulation Transcending stage of cultivation, and soon he will become a Mahayana stage cultivator.

The people in this world, whether warriors or high priests, all have very solid foundations, and even those who cultivate immortality techniques can progress by leaps and bounds in a day.

“You are the high priest, you can handle this matter.”

Li Yi said, "As for which tribes to accept and which to drive away, that's up to you. I believe you can handle this well. In addition, the merchant chief Xiu Xiang and Nü Heng will also help you."

High Priest Dou Kun naturally understood that it was impossible for a god to handle everything, which was why a high priest who stayed in the tribe year-round was needed.

However, while Dou Kun could manage the affairs of a tribe, the affairs of a kingdom spanning thousands of miles were different.

“Lord, at least you should meet them in person. It is their glory to be appreciated and summoned by a god, and this will benefit the establishment of the Crimson Gold Kingdom in the future,” said High Priest Dou Kun.

“That makes sense, High Priest. I’ll trouble you to go back and tell them that I will return to Crimson Gold Mountain in three days to summon them. I will also invite some warriors from the tribes to join Crimson Gold Mountain and serve me,” Li Yi said.

If he could gain the service of a group of mountain lord-level warriors, his power would increase even further.

After all, these two hundred-plus cultivation masters had already exhausted the foundation of the cultivation world. In order to cope with future changes, he needed new masters to serve him.

Moreover, the people in this world value promises. As long as their tribe promises to be loyal, they will definitely keep their word. There is no need to worry about betrayal or deception.

Sometimes, being primitive has its advantages.

“Lord, then I will return to Red Gold Mountain to prepare for this matter.”

After agreeing, High Priest Dou Kun hurriedly left. Clearly, since Li Yi became a god, the old priest had a much harder time than before.

However, Li Yi was also very busy.

As soon as High Priest Dou Kun left, he sensed the aura of a Lord of a Hundred Mountains appearing outside Shenmu City. This aura was very familiar; Li Yi should have seen it before.

“It’s the Lord of the North Wind.” Li Yi’s expression shifted.

Their gaze pierced through layers of obstructions, peering at the situation outside the city.

But then they saw the North Wind Lord, who had left earlier, arrive with a group of his men, pulling over a hundred carriages and horses. Clearly, he was not here to oppose Li Yi, but to show goodwill. The carriages and horses were all loaded with treasures from the Wind Kingdom.

Among them, Li Yi even saw a huge green phoenix trapped in a cage.

It was a true mythical creature, but in this wild world, Qingfeng was ultimately nothing more than prey of the Lord of a Hundred Mountains, captured and kept as a pet in the gift-giving procession.

"Da Yi, the Feng Kingdom has sent the Lord of the North Wind to congratulate you, a god of this region. Would you like to meet him?" Soon, Xuan Yuezi appeared and delivered this important news.

Li Yi withdrew his gaze at this moment: "Of course we should meet him. After all, the Wind Kingdom has a god in charge, so we should give him face. Let this Lord of the North Wind come to the City Lord's Mansion. I believe he is familiar with this place and will not need to lead the way."

The other side recently cut down a large section of the sacred tree and took it away. It seems that a god from the Wind Kingdom, knowing this news, was afraid of inciting a war of gods, so he sent a gift in an attempt to appease his anger.

(End of this chapter)